: any of various toxic blistering compounds analogous to mustard gas but containing nitrogen instead of sulfur
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebTwo researchers in the United States, Louis Goodman and Alfred Gilman, trialed the use of nitrogen mustard as a therapy for advanced lymphomas, and that opened up the field for research into other chemicals.New York Times, 25 May 2022 The first chemotherapy based on nitrogen mustard was approved in 1949, and several drugs based on Alexander’s research remain in use today. Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Dec. 2020 In March 1942, the authorities at Edgewood, having received the nitrogen mustard compounds smuggled out of Germany, turned the samples over to Alexander to investigate their impacts on the body. Jennet Conant, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Aug. 2020 Only 5 percent of patients had a complete remission after the standard treatment – namely, a steroid and melphalan, an old chemotherapy derived from nitrogen mustard, used in chemical warfare. Marie Mccullough, Philly.com, 17 Apr. 2018
Word History
First Known Use
1943, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
nitrogen mustard
noun
: any of various toxic blistering compounds analogous to mustard gas but containing nitrogen instead of sulfur