ethylene oxide

noun

: a colorless flammable toxic compound C₂H₄O used especially in synthesis (as of ethylene glycol) and in sterilization and fumigation

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Salinas also is home to Steri-Tech, the company that uses ethylene oxide to sterilize medical equipment. —

DÁnica Coto, ajc, 29 Jan. 2023 Lawyers for the companies argued that Salvi offered no proof that Kamuda’s breast cancer was caused by exposure to ethylene oxide. —

Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2022 Under pressure from health and environmental groups, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency expects to strengthen regulations for use of the colorless and normally odorless ethylene oxide. —

Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel, 8 Nov. 2022 The Environmental Protection Agency will start monitoring the air in Verona, Missouri, where a manufacturing plant named BCP Ingredients emits a potent carcinogen called ethylene oxide. —

Lisa Song, ProPublica, 29 Sep. 2022 Testing for ethylene oxide around Waukegan and Gurnee, as well as throughout Lake County, will be done in real time and more accurately this spring through the use of new equipment and a federal grant. —

Steve Sadin, Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2022 The International Sterilization Laboratory on Sampey Road in Groveland uses ethylene oxide to sterilize medical equipment. —

Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel, 8 Nov. 2022 The Environmental Protection Agency looks into the operations of a Sandy medical device maker after new data shows that its use of ethylene oxide gas can pose a cancer risk to neighbors. —

The Salt Lake Tribune, 20 Oct. 2022 Southern California air regulators are investigating several facilities that sterilize equipment using ethylene oxide after preliminary monitoring confirmed their emissions might pose an elevated cancer risk to people who work nearby. —

Amy Hubbard, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2022 See More

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

Word History

First Known Use

1866, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of ethylene oxide was in 1866

See more words from the same year

Dictionary Entries Near ethylene oxide

ethylene linkage

ethylene oxide

ethylenic isomerism

See More Nearby Entries

Cite this Entry

Style

“Ethylene oxide.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethylene%20oxide. Accessed 22 Mar. 2023.

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Medical Definition

ethylene oxide

noun

: a colorless flammable toxic gaseous or liquid compound C₂H₄O used especially in synthesis (as of ethylene glycol) and in fumigation and sterilization (as of medical instruments)