chloroform
Also called trichloromethane. Chemistry, Pharmacology. a colorless, volatile, nonflammable, slightly water-soluble, pungent, sweet-tasting liquid, CHCl3, usually derived from acetone, acetaldehyde, or ethyl alcohol by the reaction of chloride of lime: used chiefly in medicine as a solvent and formerly as an anesthetic.
to administer chloroform to, especially in order to anesthetize, make unconscious, or kill.
to put chloroform on (a cloth, object, etc.).
Origin of chloroform
1Other words from chloroform
- chlo·ro·for·mic, adjective
- pre·chlo·ro·form, verb (used with object)
Words Nearby chloroform
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use chloroform in a sentence
Rick will disable the driver with chloroform, and Fred will drive the bus to the hidden location where Fred keeps an eye on the bus.
Luckily, chloroform and ether were particularly effective on “boisterous” women and therefore used to quiet them—in doctors’ words—“not only temporarily but permanently.”
Declared Insane for Speaking Up: The Dark American History of Silencing Women Through Psychiatry | Kate Moore | June 22, 2021 | TimeWalsh further acknowledged that the FBI had not found any actual chloroform such as Valle had spoken of using.
In addition, air tests from the trunk showing high levels of chloroform are expected.
In the presence of bromin the chloroform, which settles to the bottom, assumes a yellow color.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
The fumes of the chloroform seemed to have closed over Dangerfields consciousness once more.
The Woman Gives | Owen JohnsonIkey remembered seeing his father kill a pet dog with chloroform, and so volunteered to try it on the cat.
The Story of the Big Front Door | Mary Finley LeonardAnd you exhibited to him the vial of chloroform and the piece of cambric?
The Diamond Coterie | Lawrence L. LynchThey gave you a very light dose of chloroform, Miss Wardour.
The Diamond Coterie | Lawrence L. Lynch
British Dictionary definitions for chloroform
/ (ˈklɔːrəˌfɔːm) /
a heavy volatile liquid with a sweet taste and odour, used as a solvent and cleansing agent and in refrigerants: formerly used as an inhalation anaesthetic. Formula: CHCl 3: Systematic name: trichloromethane
Origin of chloroform
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for chloroform
[ klôr′ə-fôrm′ ]
A colorless, toxic, sweet-tasting liquid formed by combining methane with chlorine. It is used as a solvent and was once widely used as an anesthetic. Chemical formula: CHCl3.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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