Logo
dictionary thesaurus

acetonitrile

noun
ace·​to·​ni·​trile | \ ə-ˌsē-tō-ˈnī-trəl How to pronounce acetonitrile (audio) , ˌa-sə-tō-, -ˌtrī(-ə)l\

Definition of acetonitrile

: the colorless liquid nitrile CH3CN of acetic acid used chiefly in organic synthesis and as a solvent

Examples of acetonitrile in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

 To identify the unique neurotoxin, the biologists cut out the venom ducts from several snails, froze them, pulverized them, and then extracted the peptides from the pulp with a mixture of water and the solvent acetonitrile. — Aaron Rowe, WIRED, "Powerful New Poison found in Deadly Sea Snails," 11 July 2007

First Known Use of acetonitrile

1848, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for acetonitrile

borrowed from German Acetonitril, from aceto- aceto- + Nitril nitrile

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for acetonitrile

acetonitrile

noun
ace·​to·​ni·​trile | \ ˌas-ə-tō-ˈnī-trəl How to pronounce acetonitrile (audio) , ə-ˈsēt-ō- How to pronounce acetonitrile (audio) , -ˌtrēl How to pronounce acetonitrile (audio) \

Medical Definition of acetonitrile

: the colorless liquid nitrile CH3CN of acetic acid usually made by dehydration of acetamide and used chiefly in organic synthesis and as a solvent

— called also methyl cyanide

WORD OF THE DAY

apologia

play

See Definitions and Examples

Get Word of the Day daily email!