methyl ethyl ketone

noun

: a flammable liquid compound C₄H₈O similar to acetone and used chiefly as a solvent

—abbreviation MEK

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

The use of methyl ethyl ketone had increased scores so much that rules were put in place mandating a degree of coverstock hardness as measured by a device known as a Shore durometer. —Brendan I. Koerner, Wired, 27 May 2021

In the early 1970s, several pros had enjoyed great success by soaking their balls in methyl ethyl ketone, a flammable solvent that softened the coverstocks. —Brendan I. Koerner, Wired, 27 May 2021

Less than six months later, in February 2004, a leak in a heat exchanger at Sarnia's Imperial Oil discharged cooling water to the St. Clair River contaminated with two potentially harmful chemicals, methyl ethyl ketone and methyl isobutyl ketone. —Keith Matheny, Detroit Free Press, 3 Oct. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1876, in the meaning defined above