nitrous

/ˈnaɪtɹəs/

nitrous adjective: pertaining to or composed of nitre; having the properties of nitre, bitter.

Adjective

nitrous (not comparable)

(historical) Pertaining to or composed of nitre; having the properties of nitre, bitter.
- Whate'er the wintry Frost
  Nitrous prepar'd; the various-blossom'd Spring
  Put in white Promise forth; and Summer-Suns
  Concocted strong, rush boundless now to View […].a. 1749 (date written), James Thomson, “Autumn”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC
Of, relating to, or derived from nitrogen, especially in which the valence of the nitrogen is lower than that of a corresponding nitric species.
- In fact, nitric oxide (not to be confused with nitrous oxide, or laughing gas) is one of our primary signalling molecules.2019, Bill Bryson, The Body: A Guide for Occupants, Black Swan (2020), pages 156–157
- On social media and beyond, many have taken to using the brand’s name in a more colloquial fashion, with “Galaxy Gas” being used as a catchall for nitrous oxide inhalants at large, regardless of whether they are actually Galaxy Gas products or not.2024 September 23, Trace William Cowen, “What the Hell Is Galaxy Gas?”, in Complex
Of or relating to nitrous acid or its derivatives.
Having a sharp odor like ammonia or nitric acid.

nitrous (uncountable)

(informal) Nitrous oxide.
(informal) The system in some racing vehicles which pumps nitrous oxide into the engine to improve performance.
- When a shot this big is being run, it will also be necessary to pull 6-10 degrees of timing out when the nitrous is being run.2002, Mike Kojima, Honda/Acura Engine Performance: How to Modify D, B and H Series Honda/Acura Engines for Street and Drag Racing Performance, Penguin, →ISBN, page 111
- To simulate nitrous, we will use a very simple approach: apply a large force to the back of the car when the nitrous is on.2004, Simon Carless, Gaming Hacks, "O'Reilly Media, Inc.", →ISBN, page 320

A myeloneuropathy is caused by inactivation of vitamin B₁₂ by nitrous oxide.
The effects caused by inhaling nitrous oxide gas, such as lightheadedness and euphoria, can be felt within seconds.
In fact, nitric oxide (not to be confused with nitrous oxide, or laughing gas) is one of our primary signalling molecules.

From Middle French nitreux, and its source, Latin nitrōsus (“nitrose”). Doublet of nitroso. By surface analysis, nitro- + -ous.

What does nitrous mean?: Nitrous means pertaining to or composed of nitre; having the properties of nitre, bitter.
What is nitrous in Thai?: Nitrous in Thai is ไนตรัส (nai-dtrâs). See Nitrous meaning in Thai.
What part of speech is nitrous?: Nitrous can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce nitrous?: Nitrous is pronounced /ˈnaɪtɹəs/.

Adapted from Wiktionary: nitrous (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-nitrous.wav.

Cite this entry: “nitrous.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/nitrous. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.