nitrous oxide
noun
: a colorless gas N2O that when inhaled produces loss of sensibility to pain preceded by exhilaration and sometimes laughter, that is used especially as an anesthetic in dentistry and as a fuel, and that is an atmospheric pollutant and greenhouse gas produced by combustion
called also laughing gas
compare nitric oxideExamples of nitrous oxide in a Sentence
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In fact, only about 50% of nitrogen applied as fertilizer is taken up by crops; the rest runs off into waterways as nitrate pollution or is eaten by microbes, some of which turn it into nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas.
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Katherine Bourzac, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Officers seized 86 canisters of nitrous oxide, Fetterling said.
—Sydney Barragan, Oc Register, 31 Aug. 2025
The child had come to the practice a few months prior, at 3 years old, and Davis had attempted to use nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, to perform the procedure.
—Deon J. Hampton, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2025
First, Adofo-Mensah traded sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide.
—Alec Lewis, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nitrous oxide
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Katherine Bourzac, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Officers seized 86 canisters of nitrous oxide, Fetterling said.
—Sydney Barragan, Oc Register, 31 Aug. 2025
The child had come to the practice a few months prior, at 3 years old, and Davis had attempted to use nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, to perform the procedure.
—Deon J. Hampton, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2025
First, Adofo-Mensah traded sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide.
—Alec Lewis, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nitrous oxide
Cite this Entry
“Nitrous oxide.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nitrous%20oxide. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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