: any of three poisonous colorless crystalline or liquid isomeric phenols C7H8O
Examples of cresol in a Sentence
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The constantly present base notes are the short-chain straight and branched acids, cresol and other phenolics, and skatole.
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Harold McGee, Wired, 6 Nov. 2020
In bioassays, of the 17 fecal odorants that elicited GC-EAD responses from fly antennae, a blend of indole and one or more of the alcohols phenol, m-/p-cresol and 1-octen-3-ol proved as attractive to flies as canine feces.
—Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 28 Feb. 2017
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Harold McGee, Wired, 6 Nov. 2020
In bioassays, of the 17 fecal odorants that elicited GC-EAD responses from fly antennae, a blend of indole and one or more of the alcohols phenol, m-/p-cresol and 1-octen-3-ol proved as attractive to flies as canine feces.
—Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 28 Feb. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Cresol.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cresol. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
cresol
noun
cre·sol
ˈkrē-ˌsȯl, -ˌsōl 
1
: any of three poisonous colorless crystalline or liquid isomeric phenols C7H8O that are used as disinfectants, in making phenolic resins and plasticizers, and in organic synthesis see metacresol, orthocresol, paracresol
2
: a mixture of cresol isomers
called also tricresol
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