A chemical salt formed when chlorine combines with oxygen and another element, commonly used in explosives and matches.
From 'chlorine' + '-ate' (suffix for salts formed from acids ending in '-ic'). Chlorine gets its name from Greek 'chloros' (green) because of the gas's distinctive green-yellow color.
Potassium chlorate is the secret ingredient that makes matches ignite—when you strike a match, the friction creates just enough heat to decompose the chlorate and release oxygen, which causes the ignition mixture to combust instantly.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.