The haloform reaction is a chemical process where a methyl ketone reacts with a halogen in the presence of a base to produce a haloform, such as chloroform or bromoform, and a carboxylate ion. This reaction typically involves the halogenation of the methyl group adjacent to the carbonyl, followed by hydrolysis and decarboxylation. This reaction is significant in organic chemistry for synthesizing haloforms and understanding the behavior of ketones. It is commonly used in laboratories for the identification of methyl ketones and can also be applied in the synthesis of various organic compounds.