- a colourless or yellowish fuming corrosive liquid usually used in aqueous solution. It is an oxidizing agent and a strong monobasic acid: important in the manufacture of fertilizers, explosives, and many other chemicals. Formula: HNO3Former name: aqua fortis
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
ni•tric ac•id /ˈnaɪtrɪk ˈæsɪd/USA pronunciation n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Chemistrya colorless or yellowish, strong-smelling, corrosive liquid used chiefly in the manufacture of explosives and fertilizers.
ni′tric ac′id, [Chem.]
- a colorless or yellowish, fuming, suffocating, caustic, corrosive, water-soluble liquid, HNO3, having powerful oxidizing properties, usually obtained from ammonia or from Chile saltpeter: used chiefly in the manufacture of explosives and fertilizers and in organic synthesis. Also called aqua fortis.
- 1785–95
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
nitric acid n
'nitric acid' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
acid test
- ammonia
- aqua fortis
- aqua regia
- nitrate
- nitrogen dioxide
- Ostwald
- ammonium nitrate
- denitrate
- fuming nitric acid
- guncotton
- gunpaper
- inquartation
- mixed acid
- murexide test
- nitric oxide
- nitrobenzene
- nitrogen
- nitrogen tetroxide
- platinum
- saccharic acid
- silver nitrate
- subnitrate