Definitions for "Saltpeter"
Potassium nitrate; niter; a white crystalline substance, KNO3, having a cooling saline taste, obtained by leaching from certain soils in which it is produced by the process of nitrification (see Nitrification, 2). It is a strong oxidizer, is the chief constituent of gunpowder, and is also used as an antiseptic in curing meat, and in medicine as a diuretic, diaphoretic, and refrigerant.
(also saltpetre) — a potassium nitrate compound converted from calcium nitrates often found in dry caves and used in making gunpowder.
(KNO3) used especially as a fertilizer and explosive