Definition of "cyanide" [cy•a•nide]

• Any of various salts or esters of hydrogen cyanide containing a CN group, especially the extremely poisonous compounds potassium cyanide and sodium cyanide. (noun)
• To treat (a metal surface) with cyanide to produce a hard surface. (verb-transitive)
• To treat (an ore) with cyanide to extract gold or silver. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "However, bitter almonds are used for almond flavoring and do contain cyanide, which is removed for making things like extracts."
• "As cyanide is the source for bitterness in both apricot kernels and almonds, the sweet varieties do not have dangerous levels of the chemical."
• "I just used a package to bake some Dutch bitterkoekje-style macaroons (cyanide is broken down by cooking, even though sweet almonds hardly have any)."