-
- To save this word, you'll need to log in.
sodium cyanide
noun
: a white deliquescent poisonous salt NaCN used especially in electroplating, in fumigating, and in treating steel
Examples of sodium cyanide in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Mycrocystin-LR, which is commonly produced by cyanobacteria blooms, is actually more toxic than sodium cyanide.
—Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 4 Aug. 2014
The unknown poisoner in the Tylenol murders used potassium cyanide, which is 10 times more soluble than sodium cyanide.
—Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 26 Sep. 2022
Potassium cyanide and sodium cyanide, meanwhile, are soluble, ingestible crystals.
—Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 26 Sep. 2022
Officials bought potassium cyanide instead of sodium cyanide.
—Robert Anglen, The Arizona Republic, 11 May 2022
In the case of lethal gas executions, accounts from witnesses have described how levers are used to drop a sodium cyanide mixture into a pot of sulfuric acid below the inmate, who's strapped into a chair.
—NBC News, 14 June 2021
The protocol specifically calls for using sodium cyanide packets.
—Robert Anglen, The Arizona Republic, 6 June 2021
When a predator stumbles across one of these devices, a capsule containing sodium cyanide, a highly toxic pesticide, is ejected into its mouth.
—Mariel Padilla, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Aug. 2019
When animals bite down, the traps release sodium cyanide into their mouths, killing them.
—Madeleine Carlisle, Time, 5 Dec. 2019
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1885, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near sodium cyanide
Cite this Entry
“Sodium cyanide.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sodium%20cyanide. Accessed 12 Nov. 2024.
More from Merriam-Webster on sodium cyanide
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about sodium cyanide
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share