A novel triphenyl ether amine (TPEA) has been synthesized to develop a customized receptor for cyanide ions. TPEA is selective for CN- ions in the existence of a number of competitive anions like HSO4-, H2PO4-, ClO4-, OAc-, and halides. The proposed receptor responds linearly to CN- ions up to a concentration of 400 mu M with a detection limit of 0.4 mu M and with a binding constant of 4.16 x 10(7) M-1. The response of the receptor for CN- ions was validated by voltammetric methods. TPEA has also been studied as a probe for the detection of water in acetonitrile. Graphic abstract Amine derivative of triphenyl ether (TPEA) exhibited both voltammetric and colorimetric responses for the selective detection of cyanide ions in an aprotic solvent.