a colorless, irritating, fuming, water-soluble liquid, CH 2 O 2 , originally obtained from ants and now manufactured synthetically, used in dyeing and tanning and in medicine chiefly as a counterirritant and astringent.
Origin
1785-95
Examples from the web for formic acid
Perhaps, he said, those plants have a defense against formic acid or are in some other way fooling the ants.
New research shows that formic acid could be used as a safe, easy-to-transport source of hydrogen for fuel cells.
Refilling the fuel cell by hand is impractical for formic acid or even methanol.
That's what's left when formic acid loses a hydrogen ion.
In the body, the products formed by methanol oxidation are formaldehyde and formic acid, both of which are toxic.
formic acid effects diminished with increasing concentration.
British Dictionary definitions for formic acid
formic acid
noun
1.
a colourless corrosive liquid carboxylic acid found in some insects, esp ants, and many plants: used in dyeing textiles and the manufacture of insecticides and refrigerants. Formula: HCOOH Systematic name methanoic acid
formic acid in Medicine
formic acid for·mic acid (fôr'mĭk) n. A colorless caustic fuming liquid used in dyeing and finishing textiles and paper and in the manufacture of fumigants, insecticides, and refrigerants.
formic acid in Science
formic acid
(fôr'mĭk) A colorless, caustic, fuming liquid that occurs naturally as the poison of ants and stinging nettles. It is used in making textiles and paper and in insecticides. Formic acid is the simplest organic acid, containing a carboxyl (COOH) group attached to a hydrogen. Chemical formula:CH2O2.