Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A clear, colorless, dense, sweet-smelling liquid, CHCl3, used in refrigerants, propellants, and resins, as a solvent, and sometimes as an anesthetic. Chloroform, once widely used in human and veterinary surgery, has generally been replaced by less toxic, more easily controlled agents.
  • transitive verb To treat with chloroform to anesthetize, render unconscious, or kill.
  • transitive verb To apply chloroform to.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Trichlormethane, or formyl trichlorid (CHCl3); a volatile colorless liquid, of an agreeable sweetish taste and fragrant smell, and having the specific gravity 1.48.
  • To subject to the influence of chloroform; administer chloroform to, for the purpose of inducing anæsthesia, unconsciousness, or death.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To treat with chloroform, or to place under its influence.
  • noun (Chem.) A colorless volatile liquid, CHCl3, having an ethereal odor and a sweetish taste, formed by treating alcohol with chlorine and an alkali. It is a powerful solvent of wax, resin, etc., and is extensively used to produce anæsthesia in surgical operations; also externally, to alleviate pain.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun chemistry A halogenated hydrocarbon, trichloromethane, CHCl3; it is a volatile, sweet-smelling liquid, used extensively as a solvent and formerly as an anesthetic.
  • verb To treat with chloroform, or to render unconscious with chloroform.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a volatile liquid haloform (CHCl3); formerly used as an anesthetic
  • verb anesthetize with chloroform

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[chloro– + form(yl).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French chloroforme

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Examples

  • According to Mr. Bradley, chief software developer of CacheBack, used by the police to verify the computer searches, the term "chloroform" was searched once through Google.

    NYT > Home Page By LIZETTE ALVAREZ 2011

  • In it, Bradley said the prosecution's claim that Anthony had conducted extensive searches for the word "chloroform" had been based on inaccurate data.

    Casey Anthony Trial Witness John Bradley Backtracks After Blasting Prosecutors (VIDEO) 2011

  • But I have never heard the word chloroform except on the television, but you ` re jumping to the conclusion that it was her that had the chloroform and that it was her that ...

    CNN Transcript Sep 3, 2008 2008

  • And really, these are not optimal specimens for looking for chloroform, which is a volatile substance, meaning that it quickly dissipates into the air.

    CNN Transcript Jun 19, 2009 2009

  • PADILLA: Well, I didn ` t say that the chloroform was her search.

    CNN Transcript Dec 5, 2008 2008

  • He said that Lucy had had a son two hours ago; he had been ringing up relatives ever since; she was perfectly well; the first thing she had asked for when she came round from the chloroform was a cigarette.

    The Complete Stories Waugh, Evelyn 1998

  • Butenandt started with male urine, or alternatively its chloroform extract - approximately 0.8 per thousand dissolved in chloroform.

    Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1939 - Presentation Speech 1966

  • And similarly, we recognize quite simply bromine in chloroform.

    Jean Baptiste Perrin - Nobel Lecture 1965

  • The chloroform, which is now free from alcohol and contains all the fusel oil, is treated with a solution of 5 grammes of potassium bichromate in 30 grammes of water and 2 grammes of sulphuric acid, and then heated in a closed flask for six hours on a water bath at 85°.

    Scientific American Supplement, No. 365, December 30, 1882 Various

  • These days many claim to remove contaminants like lead and chloroform, which is a surrogate for pesticides and other harmful organic compounds.

    News Channel 9: Local News 2010

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