perfluorooctanoic acid
perfluorooctanoic acid noun: a synthetic, stable perfluorinated carboxylic acid and fluorosurfactant with industrial applications, a toxicant and carcinogen in animals, persistent in the environment and associated with infertility.

Noun
perfluorooctanoic acid (uncountable)
- A synthetic, stable perfluorinated carboxylic acid and fluorosurfactant with industrial applications, a toxicant and carcinogen in animals, persistent in the environment and associated with infertility.
- Recent studies have linked fluoropolymers to increased incidences of cancer and teratogenesis for those exposed to a particular raw material, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), used in its production, yet claims are still very controversial.2007, Mark J. Jackson, Waqar Ahmed, Surface Engineered Surgical Tools and Medical Devices, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 296
- “Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) have recently received attention owing to their widespread contamination in the environment. One of major manufacturers, 3M Company voluntarily phased out PFOS production in 2002,” scientists in Yoshida, Japan report.2013, Issues in Environmental Research and Application: 2012 Edition, ScholarlyEditions, →ISBN
- Synonyms:
- PFOA, perfluorooctanoate
Synonyms of perfluorooctanoic acid
Origin of perfluorooctanoic acid
From perfluoro- + octanoic acid.
Questions about perfluorooctanoic acid
- What does perfluorooctanoic acid mean?
- Perfluorooctanoic acid means a synthetic, stable perfluorinated carboxylic acid and fluorosurfactant with industrial applications, a toxicant and carcinogen in animals, persistent in the environment and associated with infertility.
- What part of speech is perfluorooctanoic acid?
- Perfluorooctanoic acid is a noun.
Words near perfluorooctanoic acid in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: perfluorooctanoic acid (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:
Cite this entry: “perfluorooctanoic acid.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/perfluorooctanoic_acid. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
