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rubbing alcohol

noun
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Definition of rubbing alcohol

: a cooling and soothing liquid for external application that contains approximately 70 percent denatured ethanol or isopropanol

Examples of rubbing alcohol in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Overwhelming notes of Robitussin and rubbing alcohol. — Theodore Gioia, The New Republic, "Death to the Negative Restaurant Review," 16 Dec. 2020 Meanwhile, scalper bots, or something like them, were responsible for the rubbing alcohol and Lysol shortages during the early months of the pandemic. — C. Brandon Ogbunu, Wired, "The Race to Get a PlayStation 5 Is the Year’s Best Game," 15 Dec. 2020 Earlier this year Lisa Mason, a 2000 British Olympian, said her coaches threw shoes at her, scratched her, and poured rubbing alcohol on her blistered and bleeding hands, raw from practicing on the uneven bars. — Jennifer Sey, Glamour, "The Global Gymnastics Community Is Finally Facing a Reckoning," 3 Dec. 2020 Clean the frosted glass globe ornaments ($14 for nine, Target) with rubbing alcohol; let dry. — Lauren Hedrick, Better Homes & Gardens, "Turn Inexpensive Glass Globes Into Colorful Ornaments in Just Two Steps," 19 Nov. 2020 Start with a gallon of hot water and half a cup or so of rubbing alcohol. — Jeff Lowenfels, Anchorage Daily News, "There must be a better way to melt that ice slick on your walkway. Here are some ideas.," 12 Nov. 2020 For your equipment, a quick scrub with soapy water removes any dirt or grime, and a spray of your rubbing alcohol spray will bust the remaining bacteria. — Harry Guinness, Popular Science, "Working out at home? Here’s how to keep your house from smelling like a gym.," 3 Sep. 2020 Lastly, Henry Rose created a Jake's House hand sanitizer, $10, to save everyone who's sick of smelling like rubbing alcohol all the time. — Nicola Dall'asen, Allure, "Michelle Pfeiffer Wants Your Whole Life to Smell Like Henry Rose," 26 Oct. 2020 Saturate a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and swipe it up and down the plates. — Sian Babish, chicagotribune.com, "The best flat iron of 2020," 25 Sep. 2020

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

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First Known Use of rubbing alcohol

1902, in the meaning defined above

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Time Traveler for rubbing alcohol

Time Traveler

The first known use of rubbing alcohol was in 1902

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Statistics for rubbing alcohol

Last Updated

28 Dec 2020

Cite this Entry

“Rubbing alcohol.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rubbing%20alcohol. Accessed 16 Jan. 2021.

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More Definitions for rubbing alcohol

rubbing alcohol

noun

English Language Learners Definition of rubbing alcohol

US : a liquid that contains alcohol and water and that is used to clean wounds or skin

See the full definition for rubbing alcohol in the English Language Learners Dictionary

rubbing alcohol

noun
rub·​bing alcohol | \ ˈrəb-iŋ-ˌ How to pronounce rubbing alcohol (audio) \

Medical Definition of rubbing alcohol

: a cooling and soothing liquid for external application that contains approximately 70 percent denatured ethanol or isopropyl alcohol

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