chlorine

[klawr-een, -in, klohr-] /ˈklɔr in, -ɪn, ˈkloʊr-/

noun

a halogen element, a heavy, greenish-yellow, incombustible, water-soluble, poisonous gas that is highly irritating to the respiratory organs, obtained chiefly by electrolysis of sodium chloride brine: used for water purification, in the making of bleaching powder, and in the manufacture both of chemicals that do not contain chlorine, as ethylene glycol, and of those that do. Symbol: Cl; atomic weight: 35.453; atomic number: 17.

Origin

1800-10; chlor-¹ + -ine²

Related forms

chlorinous, adjective

Examples from the web for chlorine

Your kids can only bob in the water for so long before the chlorine turns their hair a luminescent green.
The authors weren't so careful when they chose the other electrode, as they used silver, which can react with chlorine.
Sometimes it's a about molten sodium and chlorine gas.
The chlorine reacts with the oxygen atoms in ozone and rips apart the ozone molecule.
During this unit students will be testing their tap water for chlorine and nitrates.
Machine wash in cold water on gentle cycle using a non-chlorine bleach detergent.
Do not use chorine bleach as chlorine may yellow fabrics.
The plant converts salt extracted from the sea into chlorine and other essential products.
Machine wash separately in cold water on gentle cycle using a non-chlorine bleach detergent.
The chlorine that oil refineries use to create gasoline is no longer being kept cold.

British Dictionary definitions for chlorine

chlorine

/ˈklɔːriːn/

noun

a toxic pungent greenish-yellow gas of the halogen group; the 15th most abundant element in the earth's crust, occurring only in the combined state, mainly in common salt: used in the manufacture of many organic chemicals, in water purification, and as a disinfectant and bleaching agent. Symbol: Cl; atomic no: 17; atomic wt: 35.4527; valency: 1, 3, 5, or 7; density: 3.214 kg/m³; relative density: 1.56; melting pt: –101.03°C; boiling pt: –33.9°C

Word Origin

C19 (coined by Sir Humphrey Davy): from chloro- + -ine², referring to its colour

Word Origin and History for chlorine

nonmetallic element, the name coined 1810 by English chemist Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829) from Latinized form of Greek khloros "pale green" (see Chloe) + chemical suffix -ine (2). Named for its color. Discovered 1774, but known at first as oxymuriatic acid gas, or dephlogisticated marine acid.

chlorine in Medicine

chlorine chlo·rine (klôr'ēn', -ĭn)
n.
Symbol Cl
A highly irritating poisonous halogen, capable of combining with nearly all other elements, produced principally by electrolysis of sodium chloride and used widely to purify water, as a disinfectant and bleaching agent, and in the manufacture of many important compounds. Atomic number 17; atomic weight 35.45; freezing point -101.5°C; boiling point -34.0°C; specific gravity 1.56 (-33.6°C); valence 1, 3, 5, 7.

chlorine in Science

chlorine

(klôr'ēn')
Symbol Cl
A greenish-yellow, gaseous element of the halogen group that can combine with most other elements and is found chiefly in combination with the alkali metals as chlorates and chlorides. Chlorine is highly irritating and poisonous. It is used in purifying water, as a disinfectant and bleach, and in the manufacture of numerous chemical compounds. Atomic number 17; atomic weight 35.453; freezing point -100.98°C; boiling point -34.6°C; specific gravity 1.56 (-33.6°C); valence 1, 3, 5, 7. See Periodic Table. See Note at chlorophyll.

chlorine in Culture

chlorine [(klawr-een, klawr-in)]

A chemical element, normally a corrosive gas, that is widely used for sterilization and cleaning.

Note: Chlorine is added to drinking water to kill bacteria.

Note: Chlorine in CFCs is believed to be responsible for the ozone hole.