Agent Orange

noun

: an herbicide widely used as a defoliant in the Vietnam War that is composed of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T and contains dioxin as a contaminant

Examples of Agent Orange in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Starting in the 1990s, the U.S. began helping its former enemy address wartime legacies such as Agent Orange, a herbicide dropped from planes during the war to clear jungle brush, and which was later found to cause a wide range of health problems, including cancer and birth defects. —David Rising and Aniruddha Ghosal, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2025

The mixture known as Agent Orange is a combination of two herbicides that the U.S. brought to Vietnam in huge volumes to kill off jungles and mangroves that hid opposition forces during the Vietnam war. —Anna Maria Barry-Jester, ProPublica, 17 Mar. 2025

Thirteen months of that time were spent in Vietnam, and I am currently being treated at the Sunrise Veterans’ Clinic for the residual effects of Agent Orange. —Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 Mar. 2025

Vital Health Aid Remains Frozen Despite Court Ruling, by Stephanie Nolen Agent Orange Twisted Her Limbs. —Tracy Mumford, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

so called from the identifying color stripe on its container

First Known Use

1970, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

Agent Orange

noun

-ˈär-inj, -ˈär(-ə)nj, -ˈȯr-inj, -ˈȯr(-ə)nj 

: an herbicide widely used as a defoliant in the Vietnam War that is composed of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T and contains dioxin as a contaminant