sulfuric acid


nounChemistry.
  1. a clear, colorless to brownish, dense, oily, corrosive, water-miscible liquid, H2SO4, usually produced from sulfur dioxide: used chiefly in the manufacture of fertilizers, chemicals, explosives, and dyestuffs and in petroleum refining.

Origin of sulfuric acid

1
First recorded in 1780–90

Words Nearby sulfuric acid

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use sulfuric acid in a sentence

Scientific definitions for sulfuric acid

sulfuric acid

  1. A strong corrosive acid. It combines very easily with water, making it a good drying agent. Sulfuric acid is the most widely used acid in industry. It is used to make detergents, dyes, drugs, explosives, pigments, fertilizers, and many other products. It is also the acid in lead-acid electric batteries. Chemical formula: H2SO4.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.