ether

noun

\ ˈē-thər

Definition of ether

1a : the rarefied element formerly believed to fill the upper regions of space

b : the upper regions of space : heavens

2a : a light volatile flammable liquid C₄H₁₀O used chiefly as a solvent and especially formerly as an anesthetic

b : any of a class of organic compounds characterized by an oxygen atom attached to two carbon atoms

3a or less commonly aether \ ˈē-thər

\ : a medium that in the wave theory of light permeates all space and transmits transverse waves

b : airwaves

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Examples of ether in a Sentence

The balloon disappeared into the ether.

Recent Examples on the Web

The new business Fidelity announced Monday, Fidelity Digital Asset Services LLC, will allow money managers, family offices and other institutional clients to trade bitcoin and ether, another digital currency. — Justin Baer, WSJ, "Fidelity Says It Will Trade Bitcoin for Hedge Funds," 15 Oct. 2018 That same year, Calvin Klein released CK One into the fragrance ether. — Laura Regensdorf, Vogue, "The Best New Perfumes Capture the Zeitgeist, From #MeToo to Wellness Mania," 25 Aug. 2018 The former president also makes the mistake of assuming that Trump and the millions of people who turned out to vote for him just came if of the ether, just dropped from the sky. — Fox News, "Mainstream media hysterics over Helsinki meeting," 18 July 2018 Exchanges are susceptible to hacking, crashes and software issues — and as the price of bitcoin, ether, ripple and other currencies have soared, large amounts of money are at stake. — Sophie Haigney, San Francisco Chronicle, "Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is live after two-day outage," 13 Jan. 2018 But even as Facebook Live’s popularity has vanished into the ether, Legere and Slow Cooker Sunday have soldiered on. — Chaim Gartenberg, The Verge, "T-Mobile is releasing a Slow Cooker Sunday cookbook by CEO John Legere," 6 Dec. 2018 Amanda was this woman who had come to a new town, and there was another woman around who was sort of floating in the ether, looking out for her in different incarnations. — Steff Yotka, Vogue, "Sarah Paulson Is the Ultimate Prada Fan—She Proves It with a Star Turn in the Brand’s New Film," 13 July 2018 Ethereum's currency, ether, fell below $155—down 25 percent over the last week. — Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, "Bitcoin and Ethereum fall to lows not seen since 2017," 19 Nov. 2018 Take ether, the in-house currency for the Ethereum network. — Paul Vigna, WSJ, "‘Crypto Tourists’ Flee as Bitcoin Slump Drags On," 12 Sep. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ether.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

28 Jan 2019

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Time Traveler for ether

The first known use of ether was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for ether

ether

noun

English Language Learners Definition of ether

: a liquid that burns easily, that is used to turn solid substances into liquid, and that was used in medicine in the past to prevent patients from feeling pain during operations

: the air : the sky

See the full definition for ether in the English Language Learners Dictionary

ether

noun

\ ˈē-thər