carbolic acid

British

/ kɑːˈbɒlɪk /

noun

another name for phenol, esp when it is used as an antiseptic or disinfectant

"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

carbolic acid Scientific

/ kär-bŏl′ĭk /

See phenol

Etymology

Origin of carbolic acid

C19: carbolic, from _carbo- + _-ol ¹ + _-ic

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.

Carbolic acid was sprayed into buildings and chlorinated lime sprinkled in houses; rats were trapped and poisoned; ramshackle balcony additions were removed from tiny Chinatown apartments; houses were searched for potential plague cases.

From Scientific American • Feb. 18, 2013

Carbolic acid is used to make telephones, cigaret holders, auto enamels, explosives, and many another U. S. product, as well as to disinfect.

From Time Magazine Archive

Carbolic acid, however, dissolves gas in the body and the abdomen is then likely to collapse.

From Time Magazine Archive

Carbolic acid is germicidal in strong solution, inhibitory in weaker ones.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 2 "Anjar" to "Apollo" by Various

Carbolic acid, kar-bol′ik as′id, n. an acid produced from coal-tar, used as a disinfectant.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

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