methyl isocyanate

noun

: an extremely toxic chemical CH3NCO used especially in the manufacture of pesticides
abbreviation MIC

Examples of methyl isocyanate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Up to 20,000 people prematurely died, including at least 3,800 immediately, after a plume of methyl isocyanate gas leaked from the Union Carbide India Ltd. plant in Bhopal, India, where it was used to make the pesticide Sevin. Lorenzino Estrada, The Arizona Republic, 3 Dec. 2024 For the first decade, the Bhopal plant imported methyl isocyanate. Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1889, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of methyl isocyanate was in 1889

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Cite this Entry

“Methyl isocyanate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/methyl%20isocyanate. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.

Medical Definition

methyl isocyanate

noun
meth·​yl iso·​cy·​a·​nate
-ˌī-sō-ˈsī-ə-ˌnāt
: an extremely toxic chemical CH3NCO that is used especially in the manufacture of pesticides and was the cause of numerous deaths and injuries in a leak at a chemical plant in Bhopal, India, in 1984
abbreviation MIC

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