sulfur dioxide


nounChemistry.
  1. a colorless, nonflammable, water-soluble, suffocating gas, SO2, formed when sulfur burns: used chiefly in the manufacture of chemicals such as sulfuric acid, in preserving fruits and vegetables, and in bleaching, disinfecting, and fumigating.

Origin of sulfur dioxide

1
First recorded in 1865–70

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

How to use sulfur dioxide in a sentence

  • Pfifferling, like most natural wine producers, adds no sulfur dioxide aside from minimal amounts when he bottles the wine.

    The No Hangover Wine | Jordan Salcito | November 17, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • It does not resist so well hydrochloric acid or sulfur dioxide or alkalies.

    Creative Chemistry | Edwin E. Slosson
  • Hydrogen sulfide was what gave the characteristic aroma to rotten eggs, and sulfur dioxide wasn't exactly perfume.

    The Flaming Mountain | Harold Leland Goodwin
  • sulfur dioxide or chlorine, for example, would not allow the formation of water-ice.

    Planet of Dread | Murray Leinster
  • There is an occasional outpouring of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide.

    The Flaming Mountain | Harold Leland Goodwin

Scientific definitions for sulfur dioxide

sulfur dioxide

  1. A colorless, poisonous gas or liquid with a strong odor. It is formed naturally by volcanic activity, and is a waste gas produced by burning coal and oil and by many industrial processes, such as smelting. It is also a hazardous air pollutant and a major contributor to acid rain. Chemical formula: SO2.

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