tetrachloroethylene

[te-truh-klawr-oh-eth-uh-leen, -klohr-]

noun Chemistry.

a colorless, nonflammable, nonexplosive liquid, C2Cl4, used as a solvent, especially in dry cleaning.

Origin of tetrachloroethylene

1910–15; tetra- + chloroethylene

Also called perchloroethylene.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

tetrachloroethylene in Science

tetrachloroethylene

[tĕt′rə-klôr′ō-ĕth′ə-lēn′]

A colorless, nonflammable organic liquid used in dry-cleaning solutions, as an industrial solvent, and as an agent for expelling or destroying parasitic intestinal worms. Also called perchloroethylene. Chemical formula: C2Cl4.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.