Adjacent Words

Nitrogen definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

NI'TROGEN, n. [Gr. to produce.] The element of niter; that which produces niter; that element or component part of air which is called azote. [See Azote.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a common nonmetallic element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless inert diatomic gas; constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume; a constituent of all living tissues [syn: nitrogen, N, atomic number 7]

Merriam Webster's

noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: French nitrogène, from nitre niter + -gène -gen Date: 1794 a colorless tasteless odorless element that as a diatomic gas is relatively inert and constitutes 78 percent of the atmosphere and that is a constituent of organic compounds found in all living tissues — see element table • nitrogenous adjective

Britannica Concise

Gaseous chemical element, chemical symbol N, atomic number 7. A colorless, odorless, tasteless gas, it makes up 78% of the earth's atmosphere and is a constituent of all living matter. As the almost inert diatomic molecule N2, it is useful as an inert atmosphere or to dilute other gases. Nitrogen is commercially produced by distillation of liquefied air. Nitrogen fixation, achieved naturally by soil microbes and industrially by the Haber-Bosch process, converts it to water-soluble compounds (incl. ammonia and nitrates). Ammonia is the starting material for most other nitrogen compounds (especially nitrates and nitrites), whose main uses are in agricultural fertilizers and explosives. Nitrogen forms several oxides: nitrous oxide; nitric oxide (NO), recently found to play key roles in physiology; and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and other forms (incl. N2O3 and N2O5) notorious for causing air pollution, especially when acted on by sunlight. Other compounds include the nitrides, exceptionally hard materials made from nitrogen and a metal; cyanides; azides, used in detonators and percussion caps; and thousands of organic compounds containing nitrogen in functional groups or in a linear or ring structure (see heterocyclic compound). See also nitrogen cycle.

Dictionary of the Elements

nitrogen
Symbol: N
Atomic number: 7
Atomic weight: 14.0067
Colourless, gaseous element which belongs to group 15 of the periodic table. Constitutes ~78% of the atmosphere and is an essential part of the ecosystem. Nitrogen for industrial purposes is acquired by the fractional distillation of liquid air. Chemically inactive, reactive generally only at high temperatures or in electrical discharges. It was discovered in 1772 by D. Rutherford.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. Chem. a colourless tasteless odourless gaseous element that forms four-fifths of the atmosphere and is an essential constituent of proteins and nucleic acids. Usage: Symb.: N. Phrases and idioms: nitrogen cycle the interconversion of nitrogen and its compounds, usu. in the form of nitrates, in nature. nitrogen fixation a chemical process in which atmospheric nitrogen is assimilated into organic compounds in living organisms and hence into the nitrogen cycle. Derivatives: nitrogenous adj. Etymology: F nitrogène (as NITRO-, -GEN)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Nitrogen Ni`tro*gen, n. [L. nitrum natron + -gen: cf. F. nitrog[`e]ne. See Niter.] (Chem.) A colorless nonmetallic element, tasteless and odorless, comprising four fifths of the atmosphere by volume. It is chemically very inert in the free state, and as such is incapable of supporting life (hence the name azote still used by French chemists); but it forms many important compounds, as ammonia, nitric acid, the cyanides, etc, and is a constituent of all organized living tissues, animal or vegetable. Symbol N. Atomic weight 14. It was formerly regarded as a permanent noncondensible gas, but was liquefied in 1877 by Cailletet of Paris, and Pictet of Geneva.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Nitrogen is a colourless element that has no smell and is usually found as a gas. It forms about 78% of the earth's atmosphere, and is found in all living things.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Azote.

Moby Thesaurus

acetylene, ammonia, argon, asphyxiating gas, butane, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, castor-bean meal, chlorine, coal gas, commercial fertilizer, compost, dressing, dung, enrichener, ethane, ether, ethylene, fertilizer, fluorine, formaldehyde, guano, helium, hydrogen, illuminating gas, krypton, lewisite, manure, marsh gas, methane, muck, mustard gas, natural gas, neon, night soil, nitrate, organic fertilizer, oxygen, ozone, phosphate, poison gas, propane, radon, sewer gas, superphosphate, xenon