croton oil
noun
: a viscid acrid fixed oil obtained from seeds of an Asian croton (Croton tiglium) formerly used as a powerful purgative but now used especially in pharmacological experiments as an irritant
Examples of croton oil in a Sentence
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The mice painted only with croton oil hadn’t developed tumors.
—
Siddhartha Mukherjee, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2023
When the researchers added some slicks of croton oil to the same area, the results were startlingly different.
—Siddhartha Mukherjee, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2023
Like croton oil, asbestos seems to act as a promoter.
—Siddhartha Mukherjee, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2023
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Siddhartha Mukherjee, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2023
When the researchers added some slicks of croton oil to the same area, the results were startlingly different.
—Siddhartha Mukherjee, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2023
Like croton oil, asbestos seems to act as a promoter.
—Siddhartha Mukherjee, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Croton oil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/croton%20oil. Accessed 7 May. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
croton oil
noun
: a viscid irritating oil from an Asian plant of the genus Croton (C. tiglium) that has been used in folk medicine as a cathartic
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