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

That means about 30 million acres of land that could be used to grow food crops are instead being used to produce ethanol, despite ethanol only accounting for 6 percent of the country’s transportation fuel. —ArsTechnica, 14 June 2025

Control plants showed a consistent spectrum over the course of two weeks, but plants that received immune-response stimulants (such as ethanol) or were wounded or dehydrated showed different patterns of electrical impedance spectra. —IEEE Spectrum, 2 June 2025

Authorities have partly blamed Manzano’s death on the combined toxic effects of alprazolam, an anti-anxiety drug often sold under the brand name Xanax, and ethanol. —Tim Stelloh, NBC news, 30 May 2025

After a 4-year-old student in Alabama ingested ethanol and was taken to a hospital with one-third the state's legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC), her teacher was arrested, according to multiple reports, citing local authorities. —Jonathan Limehouse, USA Today, 27 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