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Glite Dictionary
nitrogen mustard

nitrogen mustard

6.5
A toxic chemical that doctors use as a medicine to treat some cancers
  • noun
  • /ˈnaɪtrədʒən ˈmʌstərd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : mostaza nitrogenada
  • Because of its toxicity, nitrogen mustard must be handled with extreme care in medical settings.

Examples

  • Nitrogen mustard is used as a chemotherapy agent in the treatment of certain types of cancer.

  • Doctors often prescribe nitrogen mustard for certain types of cancer.

  • Researchers are studying new uses for nitrogen mustard in the fight against Hodgkin's lymphoma.

  • The effects of nitrogen mustards can vary from patient to patient.

  • Doctors often prescribe nitrogen mustard to patients undergoing chemotherapy for certain types of cancer.

  • The research team studies nitrogen mustard compounds to improve their effectiveness in treating tumors.

  • As a derivative of mustard gas, nitrogen mustard has been adapted for use in modern cancer treatments.

Surface Forms

nitrogen mustard singular
nitrogen mustards plural

Morphology

nitrogen + mustard

Although the phrase is compositionally 'nitrogen' + 'mustard', the word 'mustard' here refers to a chemical (mustard gas/related compounds) rather than the common food condiment, and the term denotes a specialized toxic/therapeutic chemical class. A B1 learner who knows the literal constituents would not be able to infer the technical sense (a chemotherapy/toxic compound) from the parts alone, so the expression is not meaningfully derivable from its words.

Etymology

Nitrogen mustard was named after old 'mustard' gas because the early chemical made blisters and lowered blood cell counts, so scientists made a similar chemical with nitrogen and kept the word mustard. Because doctors saw it lower white blood cells, they turned nitrogen mustard into a medicine 'used to treat cancer'.