NAPHTHALENE

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

Meaning:

A white crystalline strong-smelling hydrocarbon made from coal tar or petroleum and used in organic synthesis and as a fumigant in mothballs

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("naphthalene" is a kind of...):

hydrocarbon (an organic compound containing only carbon and hydrogen)

Holonyms ("naphthalene" is a substance of...):

camphor ball; mothball (a small sphere of camphor or naphthalene used to keep moths away from stored clothing)

coal tar (a tar formed from distillation of bituminous coal; coal tar can be further distilled to give various aromatic compounds)