dieldrin

noun

diel·​drin ˈdēl-drən How to pronounce dieldrin (audio)
: a white crystalline persistent toxic chlorinated compound C12H8Cl6O used especially formerly as an insecticide

Examples of dieldrin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Once abundant around the world, their numbers began to dwindle after World War II because of the use of pesticides like dieldrin, aldrin and DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane). Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Aug. 2024 Whereas many malarial treatments, such as dieldrin, work only by killing insects, DDT also repels and irritates them. Frances Beinecke, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2012 For example, Grannas and her colleagues found that the chemical aldrin, historically used in pesticides, could transform more readily into the even more toxic chemical dieldrin in ice. Sophia Chen, WIRED, 29 Mar. 2023 As a result of a lawsuit filed by the fund in Michigan, nearly every city stopped using DDT, and an application of another pesticide, dieldrin, in Western Michigan, to fight Japanese beetles, was delayed for a year. Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2022 Many are also insusceptible to later pesticides like dieldrin, malathion and deltamethrin. Charles C. Mann, WSJ, 26 Apr. 2018 The environmental assessment found the presence of toxaphene and dieldrin, decades-old insecticides that are now banned and have been shown to cause cancer in mice. Skyler Swisher, Sun-Sentinel.com, 10 Apr. 2018

Word History

Etymology

Diels-Alder reaction (an addition reaction forming a 6-membered ring), after Otto Diels & Kurt Alder

First Known Use

circa 1949, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dieldrin was circa 1949

Dictionary Entries Near dieldrin

Cite this Entry

“Dieldrin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dieldrin. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.

Medical Definition

dieldrin

noun
diel·​drin ˈdē(ə)l-drən How to pronounce dieldrin (audio)
: a white crystalline persistent chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticide C12H8Cl6O
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