Chloroform

//ˈklɒɹə(ʊ)ˌfɔː(ɹ)m// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A halogenated hydrocarbon, trichloromethane, CHCl₃; it is a volatile, sweet-smelling liquid, used extensively as a solvent and formerly as an anesthetic. uncountable

    "Some assume that chloroform is a gas because it was given by inhalation."

  2. 2
    a volatile liquid haloform (CHCl3); formerly used as an anesthetic wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To treat with chloroform, or to render unconscious with chloroform.
  2. 2
    anesthetize with chloroform wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
trichloromethane;alcoholanestheticanesthetizeannihilate

Example

More examples

"Sami knew how to make chloroform."

Etymology

Borrowed from French chloroforme, portmanteau of terchloride (tertiary chloride, trichloride) and formyle (CH, an obsolete radical of formic acid) by Jean-Baptiste Dumas, from 1834. By surface analysis, chloro- + -form.

Related phrases

methyl chloroform

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.