potassium nitrate

American

noun

Chemistry.

a crystalline compound, KNO 3 , produced by nitrification in soil, and used in gunpowders, fertilizers, and preservatives; saltpeter; niter.

potassium nitrate British

noun

Also called: saltpetre. nitre. a colourless or white crystalline compound used in gunpowders, pyrotechnics, fertilizers, and as a preservative for foods, esp as a curing salt for ham, sausages, etc ( E252 ). Formula: KNO 3

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

potassium nitrate Scientific

A transparent, white, crystalline compound and strong oxidizing agent. It is used in gunpowder and fireworks, in making glass, and in fertilizer. Also called saltpeter. Chemical formula: KNO ₃ .
See also niter

Etymology

Origin of potassium nitrate

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

These included potassium sorbate, potassium metabisulfite, sodium nitrite, potassium nitrate, and acetic acid.

From Science Daily

Black powder, first formulated in China more than a millennium ago, is a mixture of sulphur, carbon and potassium nitrate.

From Washington Times

Then, around 800 B.C., an alchemist allegedly mixed sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate in a search for eternal life— instead, the mixture led to gunpowder.

From Salon

He could tell just from picking up a toothpaste tube whether it contained potassium nitrate.

From Literature

Sometime between 600 and 900 CE, a mix of potassium nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal — saltpeter, or rudimentary gunpowder — was poured into bamboo or paper tubes.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023