Oxford Dictionary English

    toxic

    adjective
    adjective
    BrE BrE//ˈtɒksɪk//
    ; NAmE NAmE//ˈtɑːksɪk//
    Waste and pollution
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  1. 1containing poison; poisonous toxic chemicals/fumes/gases/substances to dispose of toxic waste Many pesticides are highly toxic. Wordfindergreenbiodiversity, conservation, endanger, the environment, extinct, green, managed, species, sustainable, toxic Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsbe, prove, stay, … adverbextremely, fairly, very, … prepositionto See full entry See related entries: Waste and pollution
  2. 2toxic debt/loan/asset/investment a level of debt or high-risk investment that causes very serious problems for a bank or other financial institution Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsbe, prove, stay, … adverbextremely, fairly, very, … prepositionto See full entry
  3. 3[usually before noun] (informal) (of a person) having a very unpleasant personality, especially in the way they like to control and influence other people in a dishonest way Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsbe, prove, stay, … adverbextremely, fairly, very, … prepositionto See full entry
    4.  Word Originmid 17th cent.: from medieval Latin toxicus ‘poisoned’, from Latin toxicum ‘poison’, from Greek toxikon (pharmakon) ‘(poison for) arrows’, from toxon ‘bow’.Extra examples This chemical is toxic to many forms of life. potentially toxic chemicals Many pesticides are highly toxic. toxic chemicals/​fumes/​gases/​substances
See toxic in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic EnglishSee toxic in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
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