trichloroethylene

noun

tri·​chlo·​ro·​eth·​y·​lene ˌtrī-ˌklȯr-ō-ˈe-thə-ˌlēn 

: a nonflammable toxic liquid C₂HCl₃ used especially as an industrial solvent

Examples of trichloroethylene in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But the base also left behind trichloroethylene, or TCE, a cancer-causing solvent used to clean missile oxygen systems. —Sean Campbell, Sacbee.com, 14 June 2025

The site is contaminated by trichloroethylene, known as TCE, a solvent that can cause cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma and is banned in the United States. —Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 6 June 2025

And last week, the EPA asked a federal appeals court to further delay the ban until the end of May. TCE, short for trichloroethylene, is one of five toxic substances for which full or partial bans put in place by the EPA under President Joe Biden are now under threat. —Sharon Lerner, ProPublica, 26 Mar. 2025

Other pollutants that alarmed the EWG researchers were volatile organic compounds, like trichloroethylene (TCE), nitrates, heavy metals like arsenic and disinfection byproducts. —Sharon Udasin, The Hill, 26 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1919, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for trichloroethylene

• apolipoprotein
• dimethylaniline
• hydroxytryptamine
• metallothionein
• oxyacetylene
• phenoxybenzamine
• phosphatidylserine
• triethanolamine
• acetylene
• adenosine
• amphetamine
• anthropocene

Medical Definition

trichloroethylene

noun

tri·​chlo·​ro·​eth·​y·​lene

variants also trichlorethylene

-ˈeth-ə-ˌlēn 

: a nonflammable liquid C₂HCl₃ used as a solvent and in medicine as an anesthetic and analgesic

—abbreviation TCE