any of various highly toxic organic compounds of mercury that contain the complex CH3Hg-
methylmercury in American English
(ˌmeθəlˈmɜːrkjəri)
noun
Chemistry
any of several extremely toxic organometallic compounds, Hg(CH3)2, formed from metallic mercury by the action of microorganisms and capable of entering the food chain: used as seed disinfectants
Word origin
[1915–20; methyl + mercury]This word is first recorded in the period 1915–20. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: GI, decoder, feedback, neorealism, stockpile
Examples of 'methylmercury' in a sentence
methylmercury
The bigger and older the fish, the more methylmercury its flesh tends to contain.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Organic mercury compounds like methylmercury have long latency periods.