muriatic acid
1
6.5
- noun
- /ˌmjʊrɪˈætɪk ˈæsɪd/
- Specialized
:
ácido muriático
- Admittedly, not everyone has muriatic acid, bare copper wire, and an adjustable voltage power supply lying around, but it took me about 15 minutes to get the process started.
Examples
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The workers used muriatic acid to remove mineral deposits from the stone surfaces in the construction site.
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To safely clean the pool tiles, dilute muriatic acid with water according to the instructions on the label.
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You can find muriatic acid at hardware stores, where it is sold for cleaning and etching materials.
Synonyms
6
4.1
A very strong acid that can burn skin and helps the stomach digest food
A strong acid that can burn skin and metal
Surface Forms
Morphology
muriatic + acid
The modifier 'muriatic' is rare/technical and does not transparently convey 'hydrochloric' or 'related to brine' to an average B1 learner, so knowing 'acid' alone is insufficient to derive the specific chemical meaning. Because 'muriatic' is archaic/specialized and the compound denotes a particular chemical rather than a predictable compositional sense, the phrase is opaque to learners.
Etymology
Muriatic acid comes from the old word muriatic, which means 'salt water' or 'brine', because the acid was first made from salt. That's why the name stayed and today muriatic acid refers to the strong hydrochloric acid used for cleaning and industry.