sarin

noun

sa·​rin ˈsär-ən 

ˈser-;

zä-ˈrēn 

: an extremely toxic chemical weapon C₄H₁₀FO₂P that is used as a lethal nerve gas

called also GB

Examples of sarin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Sarin attack Among those executed in 2018 included guru Shoko Asahara and 12 former members of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, which orchestrated the 1995 sarin gas attacks on Tokyo's subway system that killed 14 people. — CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026

In August 2013, Assad ordered a devastating sarin gas attack in Ghouta which killed at least 1,400 people, many of them children. — S.e. Cupp, New York Daily News, 11 June 2026

For example, the higher estimates for the infamous August 2013 East Ghoutta chemical weapons attack, which saw sarin nerve gas unleashed on an urban civilian area, are 1,500 dead. — Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026

Japan was stunned into a mainstream awareness of cults in 1995, when Aum Shinrikyo, a vaguely Buddhist meditation sect, released sarin gas in the Tokyo subway, killing more than a dozen and injuring thousands. — E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

German

First Known Use

1951, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

sarin

noun

sa·​rin ˈsär-ən  zä-ˈrēn 

: an extremely toxic chemical warfare agent C₄H₁₀FO₂P that is a powerful cholinesterase inhibitor

called also GB