sulfuric acid

noun

: a heavy corrosive oily dibasic strong acid H₂SO₄ that is colorless when pure and is a vigorous oxidizing and dehydrating agent

Is it sulfur or sulphur?: Usage Guide

The spelling sulfur predominates in U.S. technical usage, while both sulfur and sulphur are common in general usage. British usage tends to favor sulphur for all applications. The same pattern is seen in most of the words derived from sulfur.

Examples of sulfuric acid in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

On this distant world, microbial life survives in sulfuric acid instead of water, and these tiny organisms exhibit an impressive collective intelligence akin to ant colonies. —Leslie Katz, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025

Another blasts rock to create open pits and uses sulfuric acid to leach lithium from clay. —Meg Bernhard, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025

And in that mixture, sulfuric acid catalyzes chemical reactions between water and the bonds that hold peptides together. —Kiona N. Smith, Space.com, 20 Feb. 2025

That's forming sulfuric acid and oxidizing the leftover iron, which would normally precipitate out of the water as rust. —Alec Luhn, Scientific American, 1 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1788, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for sulfuric acid

• antacid
• placid

Kids Definition

sulfuric acid

noun

: a heavy oily strong acid that is colorless when pure and eats away at many solid substances

Medical Definition

sulfuric acid

noun

: a heavy corrosive oily dibasic strong acid H₂SO₄ that is colorless when pure and is a vigorous oxidizing and dehydrating agent see oil of vitriol