halide

halide — noun

1. a chemical formed when a halogen, such as chlorine, bromine, or iodine, joins wi

1.nounC2
Definition

a chemical formed when a halogen, such as chlorine, bromine, or iodine, joins with another element that gives up electrons more easily, for example sodium or silver.

Example

Greta studied how silver halide crystals react to light in old photographic film.

collocation: silver halide (photography context)

Common table salt is a halide of sodium, formed when sodium bonds with chlorine.

pattern: a halide of [electropositive element]

Common collocations
  • silver halide
  • metal halide
  • potassium halide
  • alkyl halide
  • halide ion
Synonyms
  • halogen compound

    more descriptive lay term; halide is the specific chemistry term

  • halogen salt

    applies when the halide is ionic (e.g. sodium chloride); not all halides are salts

Grammar Patterns

a halide of [element]

Usage Note

Almost always appears in scientific or technical writing. Often preceded by the name of the electropositive partner ('silver halide', 'potassium halide', 'metal halide') rather than standing alone.

Common Mistakes

Halide is a type of acid.
A halide is a compound of a halogen with another element.
a halide is not itself an acid, though some halides come from halogen acids.

Word family

  • halogen
    nounC2
  • halogenate
    verbC2
  • halogenation
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

In chemistry textbooks, 'halide' is the precise technical term for any binary compound between a halogen (fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, or astatine) and a more electropositive element. 'Halogen compound' is broader and more descriptive — useful when explaining the idea to non-specialists, but less precise because it can also cover larger molecules where the halogen is just one functional group. 'Halogen salt' overlaps with 'halide' only when the bond is ionic, as in sodium chloride or potassium iodide; molecular halides like hydrogen chloride gas are halides but not salts. In practice, a chemistry student writes 'sodium halide' on an exam, a science teacher might say 'a halogen compound' when introducing the topic, and 'halogen salt' is reserved for clearly ionic cases.

halide ↗halogen compoundhalogen salt

Common collocations

Nouns

  • silver halide
  • metal halide
  • alkyl halide
  • halide ion
  • halide lamp
  • halide crystal
  • halide solution

Phrases

  • silver halide film
  • metal halide lamp

Prepositions

  • halide of [element]

Etymology

GreekModern LatinEnglish

The word 'halide' was built in the nineteenth century by joining the Greek root 'hals' (meaning 'salt') with the chemistry suffix '-ide', which marks the negative partner in a two-element compound. Chemists chose the salt-based root because the first halides studied — common table salt and similar minerals — were everyday salts. The same Greek root sits inside 'halogen' itself, which literally means 'salt-former'.