dioxin
[ dahy-ok-sin ]
/ daɪˈɒk sɪn /
noun Chemistry.
a general name for a family of chlorinated hydrocarbons, C12H4Cl4O2, typically used to refer to one isomer, TCDD, a by-product of pesticide manufacture: a toxic compound that is carcinogenic and teratogenic in certain animals.
Also called
TCDD
Compare
Agent Orange.
Words nearby dioxin
diovular,
diovulatory,
dioxan,
dioxane,
dioxide,
dioxin,
dioxygenase,
dip,
dip circle,
dip fault,
dip into
Example sentences from the Web for dioxin
“Dioxin” is the dirtiest of dirty words and this designation, like the chemical itself, does not degrade.
Unfortunately, the waste oil had a dioxin concentration 2,000 times higher than that in Agent Orange.
It is the connection of triclosan to dioxin that has appropriately raised the hackles of so many.
Yushchenko had been poisoned with dioxin during the campaign, most likely by allies of Moscow.
British Dictionary definitions for dioxin
dioxin
/ (daɪˈɒksɪn) /
noun
any of a number of mostly poisonous chemical by-products of the manufacture of certain herbicides and bactericides, esp the extremely toxic 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin
Medical definitions for dioxin
dioxin
[ dī-ŏk′sĭn ]
n.
Any of several carcinogenic or teratogenic heterocyclic hydrocarbons that occur as impurities in petroleum-derived herbicides.
Scientific definitions for dioxin
dioxin
[ dī-ŏk′sĭn ]
Any of several toxic hydrocarbons that occur as impurities in petroleum-derived herbicides, disinfectants, and other products. Dioxins are composed of two benzene rings connected by two oxygen atoms, and the most familiar kind, called TCDD, has two chlorine atoms attached to each benzene ring. TCDD was once thought to cause cancer and birth defects, but subsequent research showed it to have only mild toxic effects except at very high exposure levels.
Cultural definitions for dioxin
dioxin
[ (deye-ok-sin) ]
A group of pollutants created as by-products in many industrial processes. Dioxins accumulate in human tissue and affect human metabolism. They are carcinogens. Eliminating dioxins is an important goal of environmental policy.