or pentobarbital (ˌpɛntəˈbɑːbɪtəl) or pentobarbitone (ˌpɛntəˈbɑːbɪˌtəʊn)
noun
a barbiturate drug used in medicine as a sedative and hypnotic. Formula: C11H17N2O3Na
US equivalent: sodium pentabarbital
pentobarbital in American English
(ˌpentəˈbɑːrbɪˌtɔl, -ˌtæl)
noun
Pharmacology
a barbiturate, C11H17N2O3, used as a hypnotic and as a sedative
Word origin
[1930–35; pent- + -o- + barbital]This word is first recorded in the period 1930–35. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: DNA, cloverleaf, preset, saddle stitch, video-o- is the typical ending of the first element of compounds of Greek origin (as -i- is, in compounds of Latin origin), used regularly in forming new compounds with elementsof Greek origin and often used in English as a connective irrespective of etymology(Franco-Italian; geography; seriocomic; speedometer)
Examples of 'pentobarbital' in a sentence
pentobarbital
Some days before, I had prepared a needle with a shot of sodium pentobarbital I'd got from the labs.
Stewart, Michael COMPULSION
A post-mortem examination found that the couple died of pentobarbital toxicity.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Medical supervisory boards have piled the pressure on doctors who write prescriptions for the deadly sodium pentobarbital.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
When it has been unable to find a doctor to prescribe sodium pentobarbital, it has, on occasion, used helium gas.