ferric chloride

noun

: a deliquescent dark salt FeCl₃ that readily hydrates to the yellow-orange form and that is used especially for etching, in sewage treatment, and as an astringent

Examples of ferric chloride in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The city later determined that roughly 300 gallons of ferric chloride, diluted with reuse water, had flowed into a drainage ditch, the report said. — Kristi Swartz, AJC.com, 28 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1835, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ferric chloride

• amiloride
• hexachloride
• hydrochloride
• oxychloride
• pentachloride
• tetrachloride
• bichloride
• dichloride
• perchloride
• trichloride
• boride
• dihydrochloride

Medical Definition

ferric chloride

noun

: a deliquescent salt FeCl₃ that is used chiefly as an oxidizing agent, as a catalyst, as an etching agent in photoengraving, as a coagulant in treating industrial wastes, and in medicine in a water solution or tincture usually as an astringent or styptic