rotenone

noun

ro·​te·​none ˈrō-tə-ˌnōn 

: a crystalline insecticide C₂₃H₂₂O₆ obtained from the roots of several tropical plants (such as a derris) that is highly toxic to fish but is of low toxicity to warm-blooded animals and is used especially in home gardens

Examples of rotenone in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

After a few more spot treatments with rotenone, Soda Butte was declared brook trout free. —Travis Hall, Field & Stream, 24 Aug. 2023

Over the course of one week in 2015, state and federal agencies killed 450 brook trout using a broad application of rotenone throughout 38 miles of the Lamar River tributary. —Travis Hall, Field & Stream, 24 Aug. 2023

As crews finished building the 500-foot dam in 1962, the Utah and Wyoming departments of fish and game poisoned more than 400 miles of the Green River with the chemical rotenone. —Leia Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, 22 July 2023

Studies have shown that copper sulfate, pyrethrins, and rotenone all can be detected on plants after harvest—for copper sulfate and rotenone, those levels exceeded safe limits. —Christie Wilcox, Discover Magazine, 24 Sep. 2012

The 3- to 7-acre nursery ponds were poisoned with rotenone to kill out any existing fish before the Florida fish were stocked, along with forage species, including bluegill, threadfin shad and fathead minnows. —Matt Williams, Dallas News, 29 July 2022

The agency treated the slough with the fish killer rotenone on Saturday and Sunday. —Brandon Loomis, USA TODAY, 19 Sep. 2022

Fisheries biologists regularly apply liquid rotenone in Western streams to rid them of rainbow and other nonnative trout with the goal of restoring native cutthroat trout populations. —Brian Maffly, The Salt Lake Tribune, 26 Aug. 2021

Applying rotenone in lakes is a much different operation, deploying a powdered form of the chemical with the consistency of flour. —Brian Maffly, The Salt Lake Tribune, 26 Aug. 2021

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary, from Japanese roten derris plant

First Known Use

1904, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

rotenone

noun

ro·​te·​none ˈrōt-ᵊn-ˌōn 

: a substance obtained from tropical plants that is usually harmless to warm-blooded animals but is poisonous especially to insects

Medical Definition

rotenone

noun

ro·​te·​none ˈrōt-ᵊn-ˌōn 

: a crystalline insecticide C₂₃H₂₂O₆ that is of low toxicity for warm-blooded animals and is used especially in home gardens