Nitroglycerin

['naɪtrə'glɪsərɪn]

Definition

(noun.) a heavy yellow poisonous oily explosive liquid obtained by nitrating glycerol; used in making explosives and medically as a vasodilator (trade names Nitrospan and Nitrostat).

Checked by Irving--From WordNet

Definition

(n.) A liquid appearing like a heavy oil, colorless or yellowish, and consisting of a mixture of several glycerin salts of nitric acid, and hence more properly called glycerin nitrate. It is made by the action of nitric acid on glycerin in the presence of sulphuric acid. It is extremely unstable and terribly explosive. A very dilute solution is used in medicine as a neurotic under the name of glonion.

Editor: Sheldon