mustard gas

noun

1. an oily liquid, C 4 H 8 Cl 2 S, used as a chemical-warfare gas, blistering the skin and damaging the lungs, often causing blindness and death: introduced by the Germans in World War I.

mustard gas

noun

1. an oily liquid vesicant compound used in chemical warfare. Its vapour causes blindness and burns. Formula: (ClCH 2 CH 2 ) 2 S

mustard gas

/ mŭs′tərd /

1. An oily, volatile liquid that is corrosive to the skin and mucous membranes and causes severe, sometimes fatal respiratory damage. It was introduced in World War I as a chemical warfare agent. Chemical formula: C 4 H 8 Cl 2 S.

Word History and Origins

Origin of mustard gas¹

First recorded in 1915–20; so called from its mustard-like odor

Example Sentences

For six years afterward, despite assurances from Damascus and Moscow that all of Syria’s chemical weapons had been removed, Syrian civilians intermittently choked on chlorine gas, sulfur mustard gas and possibly sarin.

From Washington Post

Both films capture the sheer horror of trench warfare, and up-close deployment of new weapons, such as mustard gas.

From Los Angeles Times

The Germans, it turned out, had poisoned the river shore with an yperite mixture—more commonly known as mustard gas.

From Literature

Some involved chemical weapons, like mustard gas, or deadly diseases, like typhus.

From New York Times

From 1941 to 1944, professors on the medical faculty there forced at least 250 people from concentration or death camps to undergo experiments, some involving chemical weapons like mustard gas or deadly diseases like typhus.

From New York Times

Related Words

• poison gas
• tear gas