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Glite Dictionary
niter

niter

9.9
A white crystal used as a fertilizer and to make gunpowder
  • noun
  • /ˈnaɪtər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : nitrato
  • In the laboratory, we studied the properties of niter, a compound essential for many chemical reactions.

Examples

  • The explosive was made from a mixture of niter, charcoal, and sulfur.

  • People saved it for the niter in it to use in gunpowder.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Well, sweet spirits of niter, aren't you the tender bud.

    Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)

  • Sweet spirits of niter.

    The Outlaw (1943)

  • Now the three ingredients of gunpowder are charcoal, which is in here, which are potassium nitrate or nitre here, and sulphur which is there.

  • Farmers often use niter as a key ingredient in fertilizers to enhance crop growth.

Synonyms

saltpeter
vsniter
  • Specialized
6 8.6

A white mineral that farmers use in fertilizers, to preserve meat, and to make gunpowder

focuses on the compound itself and not on its natural mineral occurrence
potassium nitrate
vsniter
  • Specialized
2 4.7

A white salt used to help plants grow, make explosives, and preserve food

uses the traditional common name rather than the systematic chemical label

Compounds

soda niter
  • Archaic
9.9

A white crystal used to make plant food and explosives

Surface Forms

niter singular
niters plural

Etymology

Niter comes from the old Greek word nitron and the Egyptian natron, both meaning a kind of 'salt' used in cleaning and preserving. That's why niter today names a white salt used in fertilizers and in making gunpowder.