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

The artisan copper stills used to extract essential oils and hydrosols are handcrafted by Copper Pro in Ukraine, incorporating a unique heating element that can be plugged in rather than using an open flame. — Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 July 2026

On the other hand, natural repellants with essential oils — like lemon, eucalyptus and citronella — may degrade more quickly. — Makena Gera, PEOPLE, 18 July 2026

Some of these hacks include mixing baking soda and sugar, putting bay leaves around cabinets and under appliances and repelling roaches with essential oils. — Faith Wakefield, USA Today, 16 July 2026

Rosemary's needle-like leaves are used to flavor recipes and add fragrance to soaps and essential oils. — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 16 July 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