"hypochlorous acid" meaning in English

See hypochlorous acid in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Etymology: From hypo- + chlorous acid. Etymology templates: {{af|en|hypo-|chlorous acid}} hypo- + chlorous acid Head templates: {{en-noun|-}} hypochlorous acid (uncountable)
  1. (chemistry) A weak, unstable acid, HOCl, known only in solution; it is made by the action of chlorine on water and, along with its salts, the hypochlorites, occurs naturally in biology and has various practical uses in disinfection. Tags: uncountable Categories (topical): Chemistry, Chlorine Related terms: hydrochloric acid, chloric acid, perchloric acid Translations (a weak acid; HOCl): 次氯酸 (ci³ luk⁶ syun¹) (Chinese Cantonese), 次氯酸 (cìlǜsuān) (Chinese Mandarin), υποχλωριώδες οξύ (ypochloriódes oxý) [neuter] (Greek), hipoklórossav (Hungarian), acid hipocloros [masculine] (Romanian)
{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "hypo-",
        "3": "chlorous acid"
      },
      "expansion": "hypo- + chlorous acid",
      "name": "af"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From hypo- + chlorous acid.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "hypochlorous acid (uncountable)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Cantonese terms with redundant transliterations",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with redundant transliterations",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms prefixed with hypo-",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with redundant transliterations",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Cantonese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Greek translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Hungarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Romanian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Chemistry",
          "orig": "en:Chemistry",
          "parents": [
            "Sciences",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Chlorine",
          "orig": "en:Chlorine",
          "parents": [
            "Halogens",
            "Chemical elements",
            "Matter",
            "Chemistry",
            "Nature",
            "Sciences",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              0,
              17
            ],
            [
              629,
              646
            ],
            [
              804,
              821
            ],
            [
              882,
              899
            ],
            [
              1005,
              1022
            ],
            [
              1125,
              1142
            ],
            [
              1279,
              1296
            ],
            [
              1374,
              1391
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2025 May 1, Jen Schwartz, “The magic molecule”, in Scientific American, volume 332, number 5, pages 54-55:",
          "text": "Hypochlorous acid isn't new. It's listed as one of the World Health Organization's essential medicines and is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use on food products and in certain clinical applications. It's increasingly used in industrial and commercial settings, such as water-treatment plants, hospitals and nursing homes. It doesn't irritate the skin, eyes or lungs. In fact, optometrists use it to clean eyes before procedures, and people have been treating wounds with it for more than a century. It breaks down quickly, doesn't produce toxic waste, and isn't harmful to animals or the environment. […] Hypochlorous acid is a well-studied disinfectant that appears to be extremely effective and safe—so why isn't it a household name? ¶ Scientists have known about the powers of hypochlorous acid for nearly 200 years. […] Before the advent of antibiotics, hypochlorous acid was a go-to disinfectant. It was used as a wound sanitizer during World War I. […] For all its benefits, hypochlorous acid solution has one major weakness: it's highly unstable. […] Within minutes of exposure to light or air hypochlorous acid starts to deteriorate back into salt water, making it useless as a disinfectant. […] This lack of shelf stability is the biggest reason hypochlorous acid sprays never became a staple of the cleaning-products aisle. […] For decades hypochlorous acid lingered in the background, used as a disinfectant in specific industrial and commercial contexts that could justify a pricey, on-site manufacturing process to create products on demand. But COVID accelerated the need for different methods of disinfection that would be safe, effective and easy to use in a wide range of environments.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A weak, unstable acid, HOCl, known only in solution; it is made by the action of chlorine on water and, along with its salts, the hypochlorites, occurs naturally in biology and has various practical uses in disinfection."
      ],
      "id": "en-hypochlorous_acid-en-noun-kQwaaYdd",
      "links": [
        [
          "chemistry",
          "chemistry"
        ],
        [
          "weak",
          "weak"
        ],
        [
          "unstable",
          "unstable"
        ],
        [
          "HOCl",
          "HOCl"
        ],
        [
          "solution",
          "solution"
        ],
        [
          "chlorine",
          "chlorine"
        ],
        [
          "water",
          "water"
        ],
        [
          "salt",
          "salt"
        ],
        [
          "hypochlorite",
          "hypochlorite"
        ],
        [
          "disinfection",
          "disinfection"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(chemistry) A weak, unstable acid, HOCl, known only in solution; it is made by the action of chlorine on water and, along with its salts, the hypochlorites, occurs naturally in biology and has various practical uses in disinfection."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "hydrochloric acid"
        },
        {
          "word": "chloric acid"
        },
        {
          "word": "perchloric acid"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "chemistry",
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "yue",
          "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
          "roman": "ci³ luk⁶ syun¹",
          "sense": "a weak acid; HOCl",
          "word": "次氯酸"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "cìlǜsuān",
          "sense": "a weak acid; HOCl",
          "word": "次氯酸"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "ypochloriódes oxý",
          "sense": "a weak acid; HOCl",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "υποχλωριώδες οξύ"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "a weak acid; HOCl",
          "word": "hipoklórossav"
        },
        {
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "a weak acid; HOCl",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "acid hipocloros"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "hypochlorous acid"
}
{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "hypo-",
        "3": "chlorous acid"
      },
      "expansion": "hypo- + chlorous acid",
      "name": "af"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From hypo- + chlorous acid.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "hypochlorous acid (uncountable)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "hydrochloric acid"
    },
    {
      "word": "chloric acid"
    },
    {
      "word": "perchloric acid"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "Cantonese terms with redundant transliterations",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
        "English terms prefixed with hypo-",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English uncountable nouns",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Terms with Cantonese translations",
        "Terms with Greek translations",
        "Terms with Hungarian translations",
        "Terms with Mandarin translations",
        "Terms with Romanian translations",
        "en:Chemistry",
        "en:Chlorine"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              0,
              17
            ],
            [
              629,
              646
            ],
            [
              804,
              821
            ],
            [
              882,
              899
            ],
            [
              1005,
              1022
            ],
            [
              1125,
              1142
            ],
            [
              1279,
              1296
            ],
            [
              1374,
              1391
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2025 May 1, Jen Schwartz, “The magic molecule”, in Scientific American, volume 332, number 5, pages 54-55:",
          "text": "Hypochlorous acid isn't new. It's listed as one of the World Health Organization's essential medicines and is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use on food products and in certain clinical applications. It's increasingly used in industrial and commercial settings, such as water-treatment plants, hospitals and nursing homes. It doesn't irritate the skin, eyes or lungs. In fact, optometrists use it to clean eyes before procedures, and people have been treating wounds with it for more than a century. It breaks down quickly, doesn't produce toxic waste, and isn't harmful to animals or the environment. […] Hypochlorous acid is a well-studied disinfectant that appears to be extremely effective and safe—so why isn't it a household name? ¶ Scientists have known about the powers of hypochlorous acid for nearly 200 years. […] Before the advent of antibiotics, hypochlorous acid was a go-to disinfectant. It was used as a wound sanitizer during World War I. […] For all its benefits, hypochlorous acid solution has one major weakness: it's highly unstable. […] Within minutes of exposure to light or air hypochlorous acid starts to deteriorate back into salt water, making it useless as a disinfectant. […] This lack of shelf stability is the biggest reason hypochlorous acid sprays never became a staple of the cleaning-products aisle. […] For decades hypochlorous acid lingered in the background, used as a disinfectant in specific industrial and commercial contexts that could justify a pricey, on-site manufacturing process to create products on demand. But COVID accelerated the need for different methods of disinfection that would be safe, effective and easy to use in a wide range of environments.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A weak, unstable acid, HOCl, known only in solution; it is made by the action of chlorine on water and, along with its salts, the hypochlorites, occurs naturally in biology and has various practical uses in disinfection."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "chemistry",
          "chemistry"
        ],
        [
          "weak",
          "weak"
        ],
        [
          "unstable",
          "unstable"
        ],
        [
          "HOCl",
          "HOCl"
        ],
        [
          "solution",
          "solution"
        ],
        [
          "chlorine",
          "chlorine"
        ],
        [
          "water",
          "water"
        ],
        [
          "salt",
          "salt"
        ],
        [
          "hypochlorite",
          "hypochlorite"
        ],
        [
          "disinfection",
          "disinfection"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(chemistry) A weak, unstable acid, HOCl, known only in solution; it is made by the action of chlorine on water and, along with its salts, the hypochlorites, occurs naturally in biology and has various practical uses in disinfection."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "chemistry",
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "yue",
      "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
      "roman": "ci³ luk⁶ syun¹",
      "sense": "a weak acid; HOCl",
      "word": "次氯酸"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "cìlǜsuān",
      "sense": "a weak acid; HOCl",
      "word": "次氯酸"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "ypochloriódes oxý",
      "sense": "a weak acid; HOCl",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "υποχλωριώδες οξύ"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "a weak acid; HOCl",
      "word": "hipoklórossav"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "a weak acid; HOCl",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "acid hipocloros"
    }
  ],
  "word": "hypochlorous acid"
}

Download raw JSONL data for hypochlorous acid meaning in English (4.5kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-04-26 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-04-20 using wiktextract (89e900c and ea19a0a). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.