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alcohol

[ al-kuh-hawl, -hol ]

/ ˈæl kəˌhɔl, -ˌhɒl /

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noun

Also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, ethanol, fermentation alcohol. a colorless, limpid, volatile, flammable, water-miscible liquid, C2H5OH, having an etherlike odor and pungent, burning taste, the intoxicating principle of fermented liquors, produced by yeast fermentation of certain carbohydrates, as grains, molasses, starch, or sugar, or obtained synthetically by hydration of ethylene or as a by-product of certain hydrocarbon syntheses: used chiefly as a solvent in the extraction of specific substances, in beverages, medicines, organic synthesis, lotions, tonics, colognes, rubbing compounds, as an automobile radiator antifreeze, and as a rocket fuel.Compare denatured alcohol, methyl alcohol.

whiskey, gin, vodka, or any other intoxicating liquor containing this liquid.

Chemistry. any of a class of chemical compounds having the general formula ROH, where R represents an alkyl group and –OH a hydroxyl group, as in methyl alcohol, CH3OH, or ethyl alcohol, C2H5OH.

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Origin of alcohol

1535–45; <New Latin <Medieval Latin <Arabic al-kuḥl the powdered antimony, the distillate

Words nearby alcohol

Alcman, Alcmanic verse, Alcmene, alco-, Alcock, alcohol, alcoholate, alcohol dehydrogenase, alcohol dependence, alcohol-free, alcoholic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use alcohol in a sentence

In Davidson County, bars that derive a majority of their revenue from alcohol sales also closed, and will not reopen for at at least two weeks.
Where Restaurants and Bars Are Closing Again Across the U.S.|Elazar Sontag|August 27, 2020|Eater
It’s dangerous to add scents with food flavors to hand sanitizers which children could think smells like food, eat and get alcohol poisoning.
FDA: Please, don’t drink hand sanitizer—even if it’s sold in… a beer can?|Beth Mole|August 27, 2020|Ars Technica
He noted that California reported a spike in reports of alcohol delivery to minors in April.
Number of states allowing to-go cocktails has surged from 2 to 33 during coronavirus|Lee Clifford|August 24, 2020|Fortune
The Culture Trip reoriented its advertising strategy around streaming services, alcohol and groceries, vp of global sales Kate Glover said.
”Pivot” has been the word’: How travel publishers are navigating the coronavirus pandemic|Max Willens|August 20, 2020|Digiday

In 2018, US venture capital investment in cannabis companies topped $900 million, and the combined value of roughly 200 merger and acquisition deals was more than $15 billion—more than a third of which came from tobacco and alcohol companies.
The cannabis cowboys are going corporate|Jenni Avins|August 2, 2020|Quartz
Alcohol and sugar, even in moderate amounts, are not only sinful but poisonous.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Nobody ever says they want to become a cop so they can bust people for urinating in public or drinking alcohol on their stoop.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown|Michael Daly|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Their logic: the sea-creature would come alive and drink up any remaining alcohol.
History's Craziest Hangover Cures|Justin Jones|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You spice it with blues and skiffle music, and pickle it in alcohol and tobacco smoke.
The Greatest Rock Voice of All Time Belonged to Joe Cocker|Ted Gioia|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They want to change bad behaviors—tobacco, alcohol, using a seat belt, anything.
Can the U.S. Government Go Moneyball?|Peter Orszag, Jim Nussle|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The metal is then removed, and washed successively with very dilute sodium hydroxid solution, alcohol, and ether.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Those stains which are dissolved in methyl-alcohol combine fixation with the staining process.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
It is a white crystalline fusible solid, insoluble in water, but soluble in alcohol and in solutions of the alkalies.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry|Thomas Anderson
When this is boiled with alcohol, the glutin above referred to is extracted, and vegetable fibrine is left.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry|Thomas Anderson
A few minutes later he reappeared with the glass, followed almost directly by the chauffeur with the alcohol and lime water.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various

British Dictionary definitions for alcohol

alcohol

/ (ˈælkəˌhɒl) /

noun

Also called: ethanol, ethyl alcohol a colourless flammable liquid, the active principle of intoxicating drinks, produced by the fermentation of sugars, esp glucose, and used as a solvent and in the manufacture of organic chemicals. Formula: C 2 H 5 OH

a drink or drinks containing this substance

chem any one of a class of organic compounds that contain one or more hydroxyl groups bound to carbon atoms. The simplest alcohols have the formula ROH, where R is an alkyl groupCompare phenol (def. 2) See also diol, triol

Word Origin for alcohol

C16: via New Latin from Medieval Latin, from Arabic al-kuhl powdered antimony; see kohl

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

Scientific definitions for alcohol

alcohol

[ ăl′kə-hôl′ ]

Any of a large number of colorless, flammable organic compounds that contain the hydroxyl group (OH) and that form esters with acids. Alcohols are used as solvents and for manufacturing dyes, perfumes, and pharmaceuticals. Simple alcohols, such as methanol and ethanol, are water-soluble liquids, while more complex ones, like cetyl alcohol, are waxy solids. Names of alcohols usually end in -ol.

Ethanol.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.