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

In fact, the essential oil is an ingredient in some pesticides. —Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 14 Apr. 2025

Bonus: This product is free of common irritants like essential oils and silicones. —Marilyn La Jeunesse, Glamour, 14 Apr. 2025

Steer clear of physical exfoliants or scrubs, chemical exfoliants (salicylic or glycolic acids, for example), acne fighters like sulfur or benzoyl peroxide, botanicals such as essential oils, and other active ingredients that might stress out sensitive skin. —Alisa Hrustic, SELF, 9 Apr. 2025

While the essential oils and extracts distilled from citrus peels are effective at repelling insects ranging from carpenter ants to cockroaches, these compounds only work when applied in high concentrations, much higher than what is present in the peel itself. —Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Apr. 2025

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