creosote

[kree-uh-soht]

noun

1. an oily liquid having a burning taste and a penetrating odor, obtained by the distillation of coal and wood tar, used mainly as a preservative for wood and as an antiseptic.

2. coal-tar creosote.

verb (used with object)

creosoted, creosoting 

1. to treat with creosote.

creosote

/ ˈkrɪəˌsəʊt, ˌkrɪəˈsɒtɪk /

noun

1. a colourless or pale yellow liquid mixture with a burning taste and penetrating odour distilled from wood tar, esp from beechwood, contains creosol and other phenols, and is used as an antiseptic

2. Also called: coal-tar creosote. a thick dark liquid mixture prepared from coal tar, containing phenols: used as a preservative for wood

verb

1. to treat (wood) with creosote

creosote

1. A yellow or brown oily liquid obtained from coal tar and used as a wood preservative and disinfectant.

2. A colorless to yellowish oily liquid containing phenols, obtained by the destructive distillation of wood tar, especially from the wood of a beech, and formerly used as an expectorant in treating chronic bronchitis.

Other Word Forms

• creosotic adjective
• uncreosoted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of creosote¹

< German Kreosote (1832) < Greek kreo-, combining form of kréas flesh + sōtēr savior, preserver (in reference to its antiseptic properties)

Word History and Origins

Origin of creosote¹

C19: from Greek kreas flesh + sōtēr preserver, from sōzein to keep safe

Example Sentences

Members of the public lodged at least 25 formal complaints about a pungent smell, described as a mix of creosote and outdoor cleaning fluid.

From BBC

The landscape is vast and rugged, a mish-mash of rock, dirt and creosote bushes, swaths of gray and brown under a deep blue sky.

From Los Angeles Times

Amid the Joshua trees and creosote bushes, she recorded the sounds of the makeshift foundry.

From Los Angeles Times

Dashiell, 43, steps in close to enjoy a creosote bush’s telltale aroma of black tar and sand after a storm.

From Los Angeles Times

They include creosote bush, desert lavender, apricot mallow, desert bluebells, milkweed and more.

From Los Angeles Times