ethyl chloride

noun

: a colorless pungent flammable gaseous or volatile liquid C2H5Cl used especially as a topical anesthetic

Examples of ethyl chloride in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Outside the sports world, physicians sometimes use sprays like ethyl chloride to numb an injection site before inserting a needle. Angela Yang, NBC News, 2 Dec. 2022 Chloroethane is also known as ethyl chloride, a colorless, flammable gas typically used in gasoline additives and plastics that is also sometimes used as a recreational inhalant drug. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 12 Sep. 2022 Chloroethane, also known as ethyl chloride, is used as a solvent, refrigerant and local anesthetic, the IFS said in a statement. Mike Morris, Houston Chronicle, 30 Mar. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1860, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ethyl chloride was in 1860

Dictionary Entries Near ethyl chloride

Cite this Entry

“Ethyl chloride.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethyl%20chloride. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.

Medical Definition

ethyl chloride

noun
: a colorless pungent flammable gaseous or volatile liquid C2H5Cl used especially as a topical anesthetic

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