carbon monoxide

SEE SYNONYMS FOR carbon monoxide ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas, CO, that burns with a pale-blue flame, produced when carbon burns with insufficient air: used chiefly in organic synthesis, metallurgy, and in the preparation of metal carbonyls, as nickel carbonyl.

Origin of carbon monoxide

First recorded in 1870–75

Words nearby carbon monoxide

carbon fiber, carbon fibre, carbon fixation, carbon footprint, carbon microphone, carbon monoxide, carbon monoxide hemoglobin, carbon monoxide poisoning, carbon nanotube, carbon neutral, carbon offset

Words related to carbon monoxide

co

Example sentences from the Web for carbon monoxide

British Dictionary definitions for carbon monoxide

carbon monoxide

noun

a colourless odourless poisonous flammable gas formed when carbon compounds burn in insufficient air and produced by the action of steam on hot carbon: used as a reducing agent in metallurgy and as a fuel. Formula: CO

Medical definitions for carbon monoxide

carbon monoxide

n.

A colorless, odorless, highly poisonous gas that is formed by the incomplete combustion of carbon or of a carbonaceous material, such as gasoline.

Scientific definitions for carbon monoxide

carbon monoxide

A colorless, odorless gas formed when a compound containing carbon burns incompletely because there is not enough oxygen. It is present in the exhaust gases of automobile engines and is very poisonous. Chemical formula: CO.

Cultural definitions for carbon monoxide

carbon monoxide

A compound made up of molecules containing one carbon atom and one oxygen atom.

notes for carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide is usually formed when materials burn; it is found, for example, in automobile exhaust.

notes for carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that can be fatal to human beings if inhaled.