distillation

noun

dis·​til·​la·​tion ˌdi-stə-ˈlā-shən 

1

a

: the process of purifying a liquid by successive evaporation and condensation

b

: a process like distillation

gradual distillation of the truth

also : an instance of such distilling

2

: something distilled : distillate sense 2

Examples of distillation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The year 2025 presented a full distillation of the Daniel Lopatin experience. —Sheldon Pearce, New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2026

OpenAI in February warned lawmakers that DeepSeek has been attempting to replicate the performance of the ChatGPT maker’s models and those of other US frontier labs through distillation. —Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2026

Officials say distillation efforts can weaken guardrails designed to ensure outputs remain accurate and controlled. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 23 Apr. 2026

OpenAI in February warned lawmakers that DeepSeek has been attempting to replicate the performance of the ChatGPT maker’s models and those of other US frontier labs through distillation. —Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 23 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing distillation

• destructive distillation

Rhymes for distillation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation

Kids Definition

distillation

noun

dis·​til·​la·​tion ˌdis-tə-ˈlā-shən 

: a process of heating a liquid or solid until it sends off a vapor and then cooling the vapor until it becomes liquid

Medical Definition

distillation

noun

dis·​til·​la·​tion ˌdis-tə-ˈlā-shən 

1

: a process that consists of driving gas or vapor from liquids or solids by heating and condensing to liquid products and that is used especially for purification, fractionation, or the formation of new substances

2

: something distilled