SINCE 1828
hydrogen cyanide
nounDefinition of hydrogen cyanide
1
: a poisonous usually gaseous compound HCN that has the odor of bitter almonds
2
: hydrocyanic acid
Examples of hydrogen cyanide in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That includes heavy metals, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen cyanide. — Rachel Becker, The Verge, "Is nicotine actually bad for you?," 10 Aug. 2018 Thirty raw peach seeds also comes to an ounce and contain around 204 milligrams of hydrogen cyanide. — Jean Nick, Good Housekeeping, "Are Stone Fruit Seeds Poisonous?," 25 July 2018 Thirty raw peach seeds also comes to an ounce and contain around 204 miligrams of hydrogen cyanide. — Jean Nick, Good Housekeeping, "Are Stone Fruit Seeds Poisonous?," 30 Jan. 2018 The last case was in 1999, when Arizona used clouds of hydrogen cyanide to execute an inmate. — Author: Denise Grady, Jan Hoffman, Anchorage Daily News, "States turn to an unproven method of execution: nitrogen gas," 8 May 2018 In 2012, South Korea estimated the North had between 2,500 and 5,000 metric tons of chemical arms, including mustard gas, hydrogen cyanide, and highly lethal nerve agents including sarin, soman, and VX. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The U.S. Army Is Training to Explore, Fight in North Korea’s Maze of Tunnels," 18 Dec. 2017 This ice cloud is a hybrid of hydrogen cyanide and benzene, which condensed together. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "What Cassini learned about Saturn during its death dive," 24 Oct. 2017 The sodium cyanide quickly reacts with moisture in the animal’s mouth, releasing hydrogen cyanide gas. — National Geographic, "Dog's Death Spotlights Use of Cyanide 'Bombs' to Kill Predators," 20 Apr. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hydrogen cyanide.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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