chloroform

[ klawr-uh-fawrm, klohr- ]
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noun
  1. Also called trichloromethane. Chemistry, Pharmacology. a colorless, volatile, nonflammable, slightly water-soluble, pungent, sweet-tasting liquid, CHCl3, usually derived from acetone, acetaldehyde, or ethyl alcohol by the reaction of chloride of lime: used chiefly in medicine as a solvent and formerly as an anesthetic.

verb (used with object)
  1. to administer chloroform to, especially in order to anesthetize, make unconscious, or kill.

  2. to put chloroform on (a cloth, object, etc.).

Origin of chloroform

1
First recorded in 1830–40; chloro-2 + form(yl)

Other words from chloroform

  • chlo·ro·for·mic, adjective
  • pre·chlo·ro·form, verb (used with object)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use chloroform in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for chloroform

chloroform

/ (ˈklɔːrəˌfɔːm) /


noun
  1. a heavy volatile liquid with a sweet taste and odour, used as a solvent and cleansing agent and in refrigerants: formerly used as an inhalation anaesthetic. Formula: CHCl 3: Systematic name: trichloromethane

Origin of chloroform

1
C19: from chloro- + form (yl) (in an obsolete sense that applied to a CH radical)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for chloroform

chloroform

[ klôrə-fôrm′ ]


  1. A colorless, toxic, sweet-tasting liquid formed by combining methane with chlorine. It is used as a solvent and was once widely used as an anesthetic. Chemical formula: CHCl3.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.