: a salt or ester of perchloric acid

Examples of perchlorate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Actual Martian regolith has different particle characteristics and contains things such as perchlorates. — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2026 Plus, some samples of Martian soil contain high levels of perchlorates, toxic chemical compounds, also found in rocket fuel, that could potentially poison the planet’s supplies of water and food. — Brian Gallagher, Scientific American, 2 Oct. 2026 Perhaps the mission's biggest discovery was the existence of perchlorate, an oxidizing chemical that can be food for some microbes while toxic for others. — Tariq Malik, Space.com, 4 Aug. 2026 The complaint alleges Derrick demonstrated how to manufacture detonators and volatile explosive compounds, including nickel aminoguanidine perchlorate, ethylene glycol dinitrate, HMTD, hexamine dinitrate and ammonium nitrate mixtures capable of causing catastrophic damage. — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 13 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for perchlorate

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary

First Known Use

1817, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of perchlorate was in 1817

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Cite this Entry

“Perchlorate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perchlorate. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Kids Definition

perchlorate

noun
: a chemical compound formed by the reaction of perchloric acid with another substance

Medical Definition

: a salt or ester of perchloric acid

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