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  • nitro
    nitro
    adjective
    containing the nitro group.
  • nitro-
    nitro-
    a combining form used in the names of chemical compounds in which the nitro group is present.

nitro

1 American  
[nahy-troh] / ˈnaɪ troʊ /

adjective

  1. Chemistry. containing the nitro group.


noun

  • nitros
    plural
  1. nitroglycerin.

nitro- 2 American  
  1. a combining form used in the names of chemical compounds in which the nitro group is present.

    nitroglycerin.


nitro- 1 British  

combining form

  1. indicating that a chemical compound contains a nitro group, -NO 2

    nitrobenzene

  2. indicating that a chemical compound is a nitrate ester

    nitrocellulose

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

nitro 2 British  
/ ˈnaɪtrəʊ /

noun

  1. slang short for nitroglycerine

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of nitro1

First recorded in 1855–60; see origin at nitro-

Origin of nitro-2

Combining form of Greek nítron. See niter

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

During this process, a nitro group is added to two locations on the protein, Y198 and Y250.

From Science Daily Jul. 24, 2026

“This is pure geopolitical nitro, leaving bulls high-fiving over the chokepoint drama,” he noted.

From MarketWatch Feb. 27, 2026

Instead, the nitro boost they needed came from those already on the pitch - and some Kiwi indiscipline.

From BBC Nov. 15, 2025

So yeah, I’m gonna go a little nigh’ nigh’ and when I get back up again, shotgun a little more nitro cold brew.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 20, 2023

They had transmuted carbon into radioactive nitro gen.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

M. Chenel has found this process the best for the analysis of the nitro- naphthalenes, and for impervious substances like collodion or gun-cotton.

From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by P. Gerald (Percy Gerald) Sanford

The weight found, calculated upon the 10 grms. taken, gives the percentage of nitro- cellulose.

From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by P. Gerald (Percy Gerald) Sanford

This improvement was effected by a reduction of the barium nitrate and the use of nitro- cellulose of a higher degree of nitration, and also more gelatinisation in manufacture.

From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by P. Gerald (Percy Gerald) Sanford

An actual analysis of dynamite No. 1 made by the author at Hayle gave— Moisture, 0.92 per cent.; kieselguhr, 26.15 per cent.; and nitro- glycerine, 72.93 per cent., the last being obtained by difference.

From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by P. Gerald (Percy Gerald) Sanford

In a series of lead-lined tanks the guhr is weighed, placed in a tank, and the nitro- glycerine poured on to it.

From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by P. Gerald (Percy Gerald) Sanford

Founded and owned by Raúl Rodas, a former barista champion, this two-year-old place serves a modern yet no-frills array of excellent pour-overs, nitros, flat whites and cold brews.

From New York Times Aug. 10, 2017

He thought it the most delicious smell in the world; and so continued to think it for many years until the nitros displaced the old-fashioned compounds.

From The Adventures of Bobby Orde by Worth Brehm

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