methyl isocyanate: Meaning and Definition of

meth'yl isocy'anate

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. a highly toxic, flammable, colorless liquid, CHNCO, used as an intermediate in the manufacture of pesticides: in 1984, the accidental release of a cloud of this gas in Bhopal, India, killed more than 1700 people and injured over 200,000.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.