Explore Saltpeter through 10+ example sentences from English, with an explanation of the meaning and related words like saltpetre or niter. Ideal for language learners, writers and word enthusiasts.
Saltpeter in a sentence
Saltpeter meaning
Alternative spelling of saltpetre.
Using Saltpeter
- The main meaning on this page is: Alternative spelling of saltpetre.
- Useful related words include: potassium nitrate, saltpetre, niter, nitre.
- In the example corpus, saltpeter often appears in combinations such as: as saltpeter, of saltpeter, the saltpeter.
Context around Saltpeter
- Average sentence length in these examples: 24.3 words
- Position in the sentence: 5 start, 4 middle, 5 end
- Sentence types: 14 statements, 0 questions, 0 exclamations
Corpus analysis for Saltpeter
- In this selection, "saltpeter" usually appears near the start of the sentence. The average example has 24.3 words, and this corpus slice is mostly made up of statements.
- Around the word, chile, purified, although, potassium, sodium and hoppers stand out and add context to how "saltpeter" is used.
- Recognizable usage signals include although saltpeter from new and exportation of saltpeter would not. That gives this page its own corpus information beyond isolated example sentences.
- By corpus frequency, "saltpeter" sits close to words such as aaronson, abai and abass, which helps place it inside the broader word index.
Example types with saltpeter
The same corpus examples are grouped by length and sentence type, making it easier to see the contexts in which the word appears:
It was also agreed that taxes on the exportation of saltpeter would not increase. (14 words)
Cooper Creek Cave also shows evidence of extensive mining and contains the remains of "many saltpeter hoppers". (17 words)
The NRC, through its committee, recommended importing Chilean saltpeter and the construction of four new ordinance plants. (17 words)
Scheele's quick explanation was that the saltpeter had absorbed phlogiston with the heat (had been reduced to nitrite, in modern terms) and gave off a new phlogisticated gas as an active principle when combined with an acid (even a weak acid). (42 words)
Bergman informed Scheele that the saltpeter he had purchased from Scheele's employer, after long heating, produced red vapors (now known to be nitrogen dioxide) when it came into contact with acetic acid. (33 words)
Saltpeter harvesting was recorded by Dutch and German travelers as being common in even the smallest villages and was collected from the decomposition process of large dung hills specifically piled for the purpose. (33 words)
Example sentences (14)
Nitrogen also occurs in some relatively uncommon minerals, such as saltpeter (potassium nitrate), Chile saltpeter (sodium nitrate) and sal ammoniac (ammonium chloride).
For a 15th-century artillery piece to be effective, it had to use gunpowder made from purified saltpeter.
Although saltpeter from new Prussian-style putrefaction works had not been produced yet (the process taking about 18 months), in only a year France had gunpowder to export.
Another recipe, for artificial "thunder", specifies a mixture of one pound native sulfur, two pounds linden or willow charcoal, and six pounds of saltpeter.
Bergman informed Scheele that the saltpeter he had purchased from Scheele's employer, after long heating, produced red vapors (now known to be nitrogen dioxide) when it came into contact with acetic acid.
Black powder made with less-expensive and more plentiful sodium nitrate (in appropriate proportions) works just as well but is more hygroscopic than powders made from potassium nitrate—popularly known as saltpeter.
Cooper Creek Cave also shows evidence of extensive mining and contains the remains of "many saltpeter hoppers".
In 1777 Lavoisier named oxygen, which had earlier been isolated by Priestley ; the realization that saltpeter contained this substance was fundamental to understanding gunpowder.
It was also agreed that taxes on the exportation of saltpeter would not increase.
Proportions by weight are 75% potassium nitrate (known as saltpeter or saltpetre), 15% softwood charcoal, and 10% sulfur.
Saltpeter harvesting was recorded by Dutch and German travelers as being common in even the smallest villages and was collected from the decomposition process of large dung hills specifically piled for the purpose.
Saltpeter is the main ingredient of gunpowder and was obtained by leaching the earth from several local caves.
Scheele's quick explanation was that the saltpeter had absorbed phlogiston with the heat (had been reduced to nitrite, in modern terms) and gave off a new phlogisticated gas as an active principle when combined with an acid (even a weak acid).
The NRC, through its committee, recommended importing Chilean saltpeter and the construction of four new ordinance plants.
Common combinations with saltpeter
These word pairs occur most frequently in English texts:
- as saltpeter 3×
- of saltpeter 2×
- the saltpeter 2×