mustard gas

noun

: an irritant vesicant oily liquid C4H8Cl2S used especially as a chemical weapon

Examples of mustard gas in a Sentence

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In the 1930s, patients in Puerto Rico were subjected to experiments testing human tolerance to chlorine and mustard gas. — Uzma Rentia, STAT, 27 Apr. 2026 Some scientists have been working on a wearable electrochemical biosensor that could detect mustard gas in both liquid and vapor form. — Olamilekan Joseph Ibukun, The Conversation, 30 July 2025 In response, the German Army developed deadly chlorine and mustard gases. — Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 17 July 2025 Within his first year at the front, Malaparte was exposed to mustard gas, leaving a pulmonary lesion that, nearly forty years later, contributed to his death. — Thomas Meaney, New Yorker, 2 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for mustard gas

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mustard gas was in 1917

Rhymes for mustard gas

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Browse Nearby Words

mustard family
mustard gas
mustard gold
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Cite this Entry

“Mustard gas.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mustard%20gas. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

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Kids Definition

mustard gas

noun
: a poisonous gas used in war that has strongly irritating and especially blistering effects

Medical Definition

mustard gas

noun
: an irritant oily liquid C4H8Cl2S used especially as a chemical weapon that causes blistering, attacks the eyes and lungs, and is a systemic poison

called also dichlorethyl sulfide, sulfur mustard

More from Merriam-Webster on mustard gas

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about mustard gas

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