Showing results for glycerol. Search instead for glycerogel.

glycerol

American

[glis-uh-rawl, -rol] / ˈglɪs əˌrɔl, -ˌrɒl /

noun

a colorless, odorless, syrupy, sweet liquid, C 3 H 8 O 3 , usually obtained by the saponification of natural fats and oils: used for sweetening and preserving food, in the manufacture of cosmetics, perfumes, inks, and certain glues and cements, as a solvent and automobile antifreeze, and in medicine in suppositories and skin emollients.

glycerol British

/ ˈɡlɪsəˌrɒl /

noun

Also called (not in technical usage): glycerine, glycerin. a colourless or pale yellow odourless sweet-tasting syrupy liquid; 1,2,3-propanetriol: a by-product of soap manufacture, used as a solvent, antifreeze, plasticizer, and sweetener ( E422 ). Formula: C 3 H 8 O 3

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

glycerol Scientific

/ glĭs′ə-rôl′ /

A sweet, syrupy liquid obtained from animal fats and oils or by the fermentation of glucose. It is used as a solvent, sweetener, and antifreeze and in making explosives and soaps. Glycerol consists of a propane molecule attached to three hydroxyl (OH) groups. Also called glycerin, glycerine. Chemical formula: C ₃ H ₈ O ₃ .

Etymology

Origin of glycerol

First recorded in 1880–85; glycer(in) + -ol ¹

Vocabulary lists containing glycerol

Biochemistry

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

Nutrition and Digestion - High School

Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

glycerol

In the laboratory, they added a controlled amount of glycerol to samples of the water and kept them in an environment without oxygen.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026

"Our group's investigations had already revealed that bacteria can use uranium dissolved in water for their metabolism when they have access to glycerol as a food source."

From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026

That process releases glycerol, a molecule produced during fat metabolism.

From Science Daily ● May 12, 2026

If it's a dry cough then choosing balsams or sickly-sweet syrup-based soothing agents like glycerol, can help "coat your throat" and protect against the dryness, says Prof Smith.

From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2025

In a field trial in which the initial intent was to test the effect of glycerol levels on fertility of frozen semen, the semen was thawed in the morning and used during the same day.

From Preservation of Bull Semen at Sub-Zero Temperatures by M. E. Friedman

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023