ethanol

noun

eth·​a·​nol ˈe-thə-ˌnȯl  -ˌnōl 

 British also  ˈē-

: a colorless volatile flammable liquid C₂H₅OH that is the intoxicating agent in liquors and is also used as a solvent and in fuel

called also ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol

Examples of ethanol in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

From the foyer, an ethanol fireplace encased in slabs of polished stone anchors a lounge beneath ceilings over 10 feet high. —Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 10 Apr. 2025

About a year earlier, the group, working in partnership with Australian researchers, had sequenced the animal’s DNA from a head preserved in ethanol at a museum in Melbourne. —D. T. Max, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025

The company's ethanol business faced volatility in corn and ethanol pricing, with Chicago Board of Trade corn prices ranging from $3.62 to $4.97 per bushel and S&P Global Platts ethanol pricing from $1.38 to $2.12 per gallon during the year. —Quartz Intelligence Newsroom, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2025

Norfolk Southern had a 19-car derailment in Attica, Ohio, leak ethanol just last month. —Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1892, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ethanol

• aerosol
• alcohol
• arbitral
• basketball
• butanol
• cannonball
• carbinol
• catarrhal
• cortisol
• fireball
• gasohol
• guaiacol

Kids Definition

ethanol

noun

eth·​a·​nol ˈeth-ə-ˌnȯl 

-ˌnōl

: a colorless flammable easily evaporated liquid that is used to dissolve things and that is the substance in fermented and distilled liquors that can make one drunk

called also ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol

Medical Definition

ethanol

noun

eth·​a·​nol ˈeth-ə-ˌnȯl  -ˌnōl 

: a colorless volatile flammable liquid C₂H₅OH that is the intoxicating agent in liquors and is also used as a solvent

called also ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol

see alcohol sense 1