acetaminophen

noun

acet·​amin·​o·​phen ə-ˌsē-tə-ˈmi-nə-fən 

ˌa-sə-tə-

: a crystalline compound C₈H₉NO₂ that is a hydroxy derivative of acetanilide and is used in chemical synthesis and in medicine to relieve pain and fever

Examples of acetaminophen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The only other pain relief used during the study was acetaminophen. —Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2025

Anyway, the paper was focused on a possible link between acetaminophen use and asthma, not autism. —Michael Hiltzik, Twin Cities, 16 Oct. 2025

The study also did not mention Tylenol, acetaminophen or any pain medications, according to a post from public health scientist Jessica Steier. —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2025

Parents, Rappaport continued, should be proactive and stock up on essentials—such as a thermometer, acetaminophen or ibuprofen, saline spray and a humidifier—before children get sick. —Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

acet(yl) + amino + phen(ol)

Note: Shortened from N-acetyl-p-aminophenol. Acetaminophen was introduced as a generic name roughly coincident with the introduction of the trademark preparation Tylenol, which was first marketed as "Children's Tylenol Elixir" in 1955 by McNeil Laboratories. Synthesis of the substance, as acetylamidophenol, was first reported in Berichte der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft, 11. Jahrgang (Jan.-Juni, 1878), p. 232-33 (H. N. Morse, "Ueber eine neue Darstellungsmethode der Acetylamidophenole"). Its antipyretic properties were recognized by the German physician Josef von Mering in the 1893 article "Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Antipyretica" (Therapeutische Monatshefte, 7, pp. 577-87)—he also refers to it as acetylamidophenol.

First Known Use

1958, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

acetaminophen

noun

acet·​amin·​o·​phen ə-ˌsēt-ə-ˈmin-ə-fən 

: a crystalline compound used in medicine to relieve pain and fever

Medical Definition

acetaminophen

noun

acet·​amin·​o·​phen ə-ˌsēt-ə-ˈmin-ə-fən  ˌas-ət- 

: a crystalline compound C₈H₉NO₂ that is a hydroxy derivative of acetanilide and is used in chemical synthesis and in medicine instead of aspirin to relieve pain and fever

called also paracetamol

see liquiprin, panadol, tylenol