compound or substance not containing carbon. Not containing organic material (contrast with organic).
An inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks C-H bonds, that is, a compound that is not an organic compound, but the distinction is not defined or even of particular interest.
Inorganic compounds comprise most of the Earth's crust, although the compositions of the deep mantle remain active areas of investigation.
Some simple compounds that contain carbon are often considered inorganic. Examples include carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, carbonates, cyanides, cyanates, carbides, and thiocyanates. Many of these are normal parts of mostly organic systems, including organisms, which means that describing a chemical as inorganic does not obligately mean that it does not occur within living things.