ethanol

noun

eth·​a·​nol ˈe-thə-ˌnȯl  -ˌnōl 

 British also  ˈē-

: a colorless volatile flammable liquid C₂H₅OH that is the intoxicating agent in liquors and is also used as a solvent and in fuel

called also ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol

Examples of ethanol in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

May 8, 2025 Prime Minister Keir Starmer said British farmers will get more access to the U.S. under the agreement, and the release noted that U.S. ethanol is used to produce beer and that the country’s beef and poultry import standards will not be lowered. —Haisten Willis, The Washington Examiner, 8 May 2025

The president said that the agreement would lead to more beef and ethanol exports to the U.K., which would also streamline the processing of U.S. goods though customs. —Jill Lawless, Chicago Tribune, 8 May 2025

The fact sheet estimates that U.S. ethanol exports to the U.K. could reach $700 million a year, with another $250 million coming from beef exports. —Haisten Willis, The Washington Examiner, 8 May 2025

In exchange, the U.K. will ease trade barriers targeting a set of products, including ethanol, beef and machinery, among other products, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. —Max Zahn, ABC News, 8 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1892, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ethanol

• aerosol
• alcohol
• arbitral
• basketball
• butanol
• cannonball
• carbinol
• catarrhal
• cortisol
• fireball
• gasohol
• guaiacol

Kids Definition

ethanol

noun

eth·​a·​nol ˈeth-ə-ˌnȯl 

-ˌnōl

: a colorless flammable easily evaporated liquid that is used to dissolve things and that is the substance in fermented and distilled liquors that can make one drunk

called also ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol

Medical Definition

ethanol

noun

eth·​a·​nol ˈeth-ə-ˌnȯl  -ˌnōl 

: a colorless volatile flammable liquid C₂H₅OH that is the intoxicating agent in liquors and is also used as a solvent

called also ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol

see alcohol sense 1