noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   carbonyl chloride uncountable, usually

   "“‘Poison gas’?” A new one on Lew. But Dr. De Bottle had taken on a somber look. “Phosgene.”"

2. 2
   a colorless poisonous gas that smells like new-mown hay; used in chemical warfare wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

carbonyl chloridecarbonyl chloride

Example

More examples

"Does the chemical compound phosgene contain phosphorus atoms?"

Etymology

From Ancient Greek φῶς (phôs, “light”) + -gene, due to its first synthesis involving sunlight.

Related phrases

phosgene oximecarbonyl chloride

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