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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
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
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Word History
First Known Use
1860, in the meaning defined above
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
More from Merriam-Webster on ethyl chloride
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about ethyl chloride
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