sulfide

American  

[suhl-fahyd, -fid] / ˈsʌl faɪd, -fɪd /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a compound of sulfur with a more electropositive element or, less often, a group.

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sulfide Scientific  

/ sŭl′fīd′ /

1. A chemical compound of sulfur and another element or radical, such as hydrogen sulfide.

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Other Word Forms

• subsulfide
  noun

Etymology

Origin of sulfide

1830–40; sulf(ur) + -ide ( def. )

Example Sentences

Hydrogen sulfide smells like rotten eggs and can be produced by a chemical reaction and by some organic material, such as sewage.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

Workers at Catalyst Refiners Inc. in Institute, W.Va., were cleaning and decontaminating a metal processing site—in preparation for closing it down—when a chemical reaction created dangerous hydrogen sulfide gas around 9:30 a.m.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

Emissions of hydrogen sulfide raise health concerns in communities near California’s largest lake, researchers say.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

The air is rife with hydrogen sulfide, carrying the familiar smell of rotting eggs.

From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026

Geiger and Marsden recorded the particles’ scattering by observing the flash, or scintillation, produced whenever one struck a glass plate coated with zinc sulfide.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik