chlorine
n. uncountablen. a greenish-yellow gas used to clean water and kill germs. You often see it in swimming pools.
n. a chemical element that exists as a pale green gas at room temperature and is widely used for disinfection and water purification.
The pool water smells strong because of the chlorine.
The city adds chlorine to the drinking water to keep it safe.
Chlorine is a powerful oxidizing agent that effectively destroys bacteria and viruses in municipal water supplies.
Coined by British chemist Humphry Davy in 1810 from Ancient Greek χλωρός (khlōrós, “pale green”) + -ine.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Nounchloride
- Nounchlorine
Last updated May 4, 2026