oxalic acid: Meaning and Definition of

oxal'ic ac'id

1. a white, crystalline, water-soluble, poisonous acid, HCO&multiplydot;2HO, first discovered in the juice of the wood sorrel species of oxalis and obtained by reacting carbon monoxide with sodium hydroxide or certain carbohydrates with acids or alkalis: used chiefly for bleaching, as a cleanser, and as a laboratory reagent.