turpentine

noun

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tur·pen·tine | \ ˈtər-pən-ˌtīn

, ˈtər-pᵊm- \

Definition of turpentine

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : a yellow to brown semifluid oleoresin obtained as an exudate from the terebinth

b : an oleoresin obtained from various conifers (as some pines and firs)

2a : an essential oil obtained from turpentines by distillation and used especially as a solvent and thinner

— called also gum turpentine

b : a similar oil obtained by distillation or carbonization of pinewood

— called also wood turpentine

turpentine

verb

turpentined; turpentining

Definition of turpentine (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to apply turpentine to

2 : to extract turpentine from especially : to tap (pine trees) in order to obtain turpentine

Example Sentences Phrases Containing turpentine Learn More About turpentine

Examples of turpentine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Amid the violence, witnesses recounted seeing airplanes above Greenwood dropping turpentine bombs and bodies being tossed into the muddy Arkansas River or loaded onto trucks or trains. — Washington Post, 4 May 2022 It’s like Fred Biletnikoff using so much Stickum that equipment managers had to wash his uniforms in turpentine. — Greg Moore, The Arizona Republic, 2 Feb. 2022 Many of the pupils who went to school there were the children of people who worked hard picking oranges or harvesting turpentine in rural Lake County. — Joy Wallace Dickinson, orlandosentinel.com, 5 Dec. 2021 Whistler, the restless innovator, explores the possibilities of paint in a row of four small experimental seascapes (1896 to c. 1901) on panel, created with pigments thinned by turpentine. — Judith H. Dobrzynski, WSJ, 17 Dec. 2021 Or the raucous banquets with Communist Party officials every night, the kind with free-flowing mao-tai — a clear, fermented sorghum liquor that tastes like sweet turpentine. — Washington Post, 13 Dec. 2021 Like, some people might bulk buy paper towels or toilet paper, or turpentine . . . — New York Times, 8 Nov. 2021 The area also contains a storied history as home to Seminole Indians before serving the turpentine and logging industries. — Patrick Connolly, orlandosentinel.com, 15 Oct. 2021 The work was brutally interrupted in July when Van Gogh relapsed into madness, trying to kill himself by consuming paint and turpentine. — Peter Saenger, WSJ, 8 Oct. 2021 See More

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