Definition of "mercuric" [mer•cu•ric]

• Relating to or containing mercury, especially with a valence of 2. (adjective)

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.

• "Inorganic mercury salts, such as mercuric chloride, do not enter the brain as readily as methylmercury or metallic mercury vapor."
• "Inorganic ingestion such as mercuric chloride should be approached as the ingestion of any other serious caustic."
• "If there is pitting on the bolt face, it may indicate the use of mercuric primers, which required (but did not guarantee) good bore maintenance."