: a white crystalline persistent toxic chlorinated compound C12H8Cl6O used especially formerly as an insecticide
Examples of dieldrin in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For example, Grannas and her colleagues found that the chemical aldrin, historically used in pesticides, could transform more readily into the even more toxic chemical dieldrin in ice.
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Sophia Chen, WIRED, 29 Mar. 2023
As a result of a lawsuit filed by the fund in Michigan, nearly every city stopped using DDT, and an application of another pesticide, dieldrin, in Western Michigan, to fight Japanese beetles, was delayed for a year.
—Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2022
Many are also insusceptible to later pesticides like dieldrin, malathion and deltamethrin.
—Charles C. Mann, WSJ, 26 Apr. 2018
The environmental assessment found the presence of toxaphene and dieldrin, decades-old insecticides that are now banned and have been shown to cause cancer in mice.
—Skyler Swisher, Sun-Sentinel.com, 10 Apr. 2018
Sophia Chen, WIRED, 29 Mar. 2023
As a result of a lawsuit filed by the fund in Michigan, nearly every city stopped using DDT, and an application of another pesticide, dieldrin, in Western Michigan, to fight Japanese beetles, was delayed for a year.
—Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2022
Many are also insusceptible to later pesticides like dieldrin, malathion and deltamethrin.
—Charles C. Mann, WSJ, 26 Apr. 2018
The environmental assessment found the presence of toxaphene and dieldrin, decades-old insecticides that are now banned and have been shown to cause cancer in mice.
—Skyler Swisher, Sun-Sentinel.com, 10 Apr. 2018
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dieldrin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Diels-Alder reaction (an addition reaction forming a 6-membered ring), after Otto Diels & Kurt Alder
First Known Use
circa 1949, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near dieldrin
Cite this Entry
“Dieldrin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dieldrin. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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Medical Definition
dieldrin
noun
diel·drin
ˈdē(ə)l-drən 
: a white crystalline persistent chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticide C12H8Cl6O
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