chloromethane

From chloro- +‎ methane.

chloromethane (plural chloromethanes)

1. (organic chemistry) Methyl chloride, a flammable gas once used as a refrigerant, with chemical formula CH₃Cl.
   • 1869, George Fownes, A Manual of Elementary Chemistry, page 512:

     […] by subjecting that compound to the action of chlorine in sunshine, whereby chloromethane, or methyl chloride, CH₃Cl, is produced, and distilling this chloride with potash.

2. (organic chemistry) Any of the chlorinated derivatives of methane.
   • 2017 September 21, Wen-Tien Tsai, “Fate of Chloromethanes in the Atmospheric Environment: Implications for Human Health, Ozone Formation and Depletion, and Global Warming Impacts”, in Toxics:

     Among the halogenated hydrocarbons, chloromethanes (i.e., methyl chloride, CH₃Cl; methylene chloride, CH₂Cl₂; chloroform, CHCl₃; and carbon tetrachloride, CCl₄) play a vital role due to their extensive uses as solvents and chemical intermediates.