# hydrochloride

/hˈaɪdɹəklˌɔːɹaɪd/ (UK) · CEFR C2 · Noun

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/hydrochloride
Updated: 2026-10-18

## Definition

a salt made when a medicine is mixed with hydrochloric acid so it dissolves in water and your body can use it more easily.

For teachers: a salt formed by the reaction of an organic base, typically an amine, with hydrochloric acid, commonly used to improve water solubility and stability of pharmaceutical compounds.

## Examples

- The label says the tablet contains fluoxetine hydrochloride.
- The pharmacist explained that metformin hydrochloride dissolves easily, so the body absorbs the diabetes medicine more reliably.
- Formulating the drug as a hydrochloride improved its shelf life and solubility, allowing manufacturers to produce a stable tablet that releases the active ingredient predictably in the stomach.

## Usage notes

- Commonly follows the drug name in pharmaceutical names and labels, as in sertraline hydrochloride.

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