essential oil

noun

: any of a class of volatile oils that give plants their characteristic odors and are used especially in perfumes and flavorings, and for aromatherapy compare fixed oil

Examples of essential oil in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In addition to the beautiful colors, the blooms contain an essential oil compound, geraniol, which creates a pleasant fragrance for us, but not the pests. —Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 10 May 2026

Use insecticides, traps, or essential oils to manage carpenter bees, or call a professional for severe cases. —Asia London Palomba, The Spruce, 9 May 2026

Strong odors don’t always deter spiders, so avoid relying on essential oils or other home remedies that involve odors. —Dan Simms, USA Today, 8 May 2026

In any event, colchicine has been utilized in creating bigger petunias, lilies, marigolds, larger and more vigorous strawberries and blueberries, and spearmint and chamomile with a higher than usual concentration of essential oils. —Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 7 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1674, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for essential oil

• aerofoil
• cinquefoil
• hydrofoil
• quatrefoil
• airfoil
• benzoyl
• despoil
• embroil
• etoile
• gargoyle
• recoil
• subsoil

Medical Definition

essential oil

noun

: any of a large class of volatile odoriferous oils of vegetable origin that give plants their characteristic odors and often other properties, that are obtained from various parts of the plants (as flowers, leaves, or bark) by steam distillation, expression, or extraction, that are usually mixtures of compounds (as aldehydes or esters), and that are used often in the form of essences in perfumes, flavorings, and pharmaceutical preparations

called also ethereal oil, volatile oil

compare fatty oil, fixed oil