ammonium nitrate

noun

: a colorless crystalline salt NH4NO3 used in explosives and fertilizers and in veterinary medicine

Examples of ammonium nitrate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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In the Tianjin port, an initial explosion of nitrocellulose led to a much bigger detonation of eight hundred pounds of ammonium nitrate. Hazlitt, 23 Oct. 2024 Inspired by Blood’s curious writings, James followed Humphry Davy’s old protocol, heating a beaker of ammonium nitrate in the Harvard chemistry laboratory, capturing the escaping gas, and inhaling deeply with pen and paper in hand. Oshan Jarow, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018 Monday’s death toll far surpassed that of Beirut’s devastating port explosion in 2020, when hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse detonated, killing at least 218 people and wounding more than 6,000. Bassam Hatoum, Melanie Lidman, TIME, 23 Sep. 2024 The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives defines these types of material − such as an oxidizer like ammonium nitrate and a fuel such as aluminum − as legal when separate, but regulated once combined. Nick Penzenstadler, USA TODAY, 17 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ammonium nitrate 

Word History

First Known Use

1866, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ammonium nitrate was in 1866

Dictionary Entries Near ammonium nitrate

Cite this Entry

“Ammonium nitrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ammonium%20nitrate. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

ammonium nitrate

noun
: a colorless crystalline salt used in explosives and fertilizers

Medical Definition

ammonium nitrate

noun
: a colorless crystalline salt NH4NO3 used in explosives and fertilizers and in veterinary medicine as an expectorant and urinary acidifier

More from Merriam-Webster on ammonium nitrate

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