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

Unfortunately, applying insecticides or essential oils to surfaces isn’t useful. —Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 7 June 2026

There’s some evidence that suggests that the smell of peppermint oil, cedarwood oil, citronella oil, rosemary oil and other essential oils can repel ticks. —Dan Simms, USA Today, 4 June 2026

The couple splurged on full insulation, making the shed comfortable year-round, and outfitted it with an affordable IKEA sink for when Ashlie cans pickles and distills essential oils. —Elizabeth Jardina, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 June 2026

Simple stress relievers like stress balls and essential oil diffusers will help dad alleviate some of the day’s stressors. —Bestreviews, Mercury News, 1 June 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