essential oil

noun

: any of a class of volatile oils that give plants their characteristic odors and are used especially in perfumes and flavorings, and for aromatherapy compare fixed oil

Examples of essential oil in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Pash also recommends using smell as a sensory pathway in this case, such as essential oils or a small scented item. —Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 30 Apr. 2026

Because Scorpio is a water sign, rituals involving liquids -- such as making moon water, taking a bath, or using essential oils -- may feel especially meaningful. —ABC News, 29 Apr. 2026

Essential Oils While essential oils are safe for the toilet bowl, they should never be put inside the toilet tank. —Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 29 Apr. 2026

Kids can pour and stir the salts, count out drops of essential oil and help spoon the mixture into small glass jars. —Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Sacbee.com, 28 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1674, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for essential oil

• aerofoil
• cinquefoil
• hydrofoil
• quatrefoil
• airfoil
• benzoyl
• despoil
• embroil
• etoile
• gargoyle
• recoil
• subsoil

Medical Definition

essential oil

noun

: any of a large class of volatile odoriferous oils of vegetable origin that give plants their characteristic odors and often other properties, that are obtained from various parts of the plants (as flowers, leaves, or bark) by steam distillation, expression, or extraction, that are usually mixtures of compounds (as aldehydes or esters), and that are used often in the form of essences in perfumes, flavorings, and pharmaceutical preparations

called also ethereal oil, volatile oil

compare fatty oil, fixed oil