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nerve gas
noun
: an organophosphate chemical weapon that may be inhaled, absorbed through the skin, or ingested and interferes with normal nerve transmission : nerve agent
Examples of nerve gas in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And chatbots can theoretically walk a would-be terrorist through the steps of making a bomb, nerve gas, and a host of other horrors.
—IEEE Spectrum, 14 Feb. 2024
Many Japanese, shaken by the 1995 nerve gas attack in the Tokyo subways by another obscure religious sect, worried that Soka Gakkai was also a cult.
—Motoko Rich, New York Times, 29 Nov. 2023
Protection from nerve gas Gianneschi and Lu are studying using melanin as a protective dye in clothing.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 2 Nov. 2023
The thought is the pigment could act as an absorbent for toxins, particularly nerve gas.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 2 Nov. 2023
The two action stars play U.S. military men who team up to overcome the hijackers who are threatening to release nerve gas on the nation’s capital if their leader isn’t released from custody by the U.S. government.
—Andrea Romano, Travel + Leisure, 28 May 2023
During World War I, modern pesticides were developed as the by-products of research on nerve gas and explosives.
—Melissa Breyer, Treehugger, 13 July 2023
Last May, Haley published a paper in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives that found that veterans who recalled hearing chemical nerve gas alarms during their deployment were more likely to develop Gulf War illness.
—Adithi Ramakrishnan, Dallas News, 3 May 2023
Sean Connery essentially plays a James Bond who's been rotting in prison for decades, Nicolas Cage is a jittery FBI chemist and the twosome break into Alcatraz to stop a bunch of rogue military dudes from shooting rockets filled with deadly nerve gas at San Francisco.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 7 Apr. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nerve gas.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1940, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near nerve gas
Cite this Entry
“Nerve gas.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nerve%20gas. Accessed 31 May. 2024.
Kids Definition
nerve gas
noun
: a war gas damaging especially to the nervous and respiratory systems
Medical Definition
nerve gas
noun
: an organophosphate chemical weapon that may be inhaled, absorbed through the skin, or ingested and interferes with normal nerve transmission : nerve agent
More from Merriam-Webster on nerve gas
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about nerve gas
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