chloroform

UK: /ˈklɒrəfɔː^rm/ US: /ˈklɔrəˌfɔrm/ ,(klôr′ə fôrm′, klōr′-)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

chlo•ro•form /ˈklɔrəˌfɔrm/   n. [uncountable]

1. Chemistry a colorless liquid used chiefly in medicine to dissolve other substances, and once used as an anesthetic.

v. [~ + object]

2. Drugs to administer chloroform to, esp. in order to make unconscious or kill.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

chlo•ro•form  (klôr′ə fôrm′, klōr′-), n. 

1. Chemistry, Drugs Also called trichloromethane. a colorless, volatile, nonflammable, slightly water-soluble, pungent, sweet-tasting liquid, CHCl₃, usually derived from acetone, acetaldehyde, or ethyl alcohol by the reaction of chloride of lime: used chiefly in medicine as a solvent and formerly as an anesthetic.

v.t. 

2. Drugs to administer chloroform to, esp. in order to anesthetize, make unconscious, or kill.
3. Drugs to put chloroform on (a cloth, object, etc.).

• chloro-² + form(yl) 1830–40

chlo′ro•for′mic, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

chloroform / ˈklɔːrəˌfɔːm/ noun

1. a heavy volatile liquid with a sweet taste and odour, used as a solvent and cleansing agent and in refrigerants: formerly used as an inhalation anaesthetic. Formula: CHCl₃
   Systematic name: trichloromethane

Etymology: 19th Century: from chloro- + form( yl) (in an obsolete sense that applied to a CH radical)