glycerol

[ glis-uh-rawl, -rol ]

/ ˈglɪs əˌrɔl, -ˌrɒl /

noun

a colorless, odorless, syrupy, sweet liquid, C3H8O3, 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.

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Also called glycerin, glycerine.

Origin of glycerol

First recorded in 1880–85; glycer(in) + -ol¹

Words nearby glycerol

glyceride, glycerin, glycerinate, glycerine, glycerite, glycerol, glycerolysis, glyceryl, glyceryl group, glyceryl monoacetate, glyceryl trinitrate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for glycerol

Glycerol Caustic Solution—Dissolve 250 g. potassium hydroxide in 1900 cc.
Soap-Making Manual|E. G. Thomssen
The materials vary in glycerol content with the methods of preparation; especially is this the case with tallows and greases.
The Handbook of Soap Manufacture|W. H. Simmons
Caustic soda cannot be substituted for caustic potash in the glycerol method.
Soap-Making Manual|E. G. Thomssen
Oxygen consumption was increased by the presence of added catalase at all glycerol levels and in the control.
Preservation of Bull Semen at Sub-Zero Temperatures|N. L. VanDemark

Glycerol possesses all the characteristic properties of an alcohol, forming alcoholates with alkalies, esters with acids, etc.
The Chemistry of Plant Life|Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher

British Dictionary definitions for glycerol

glycerol

/ (ˈɡlɪsəˌrɒl) /

noun

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 3Also called (not in technical usage): glycerine, glycerin

Word Origin for glycerol

C19: from glycer (ine) + -ol 1

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

Medical definitions for glycerol

glycerol

[ glĭs′ə-rôl′, -rōl′ ]

n.

A sweet syrupy fluid obtained by the saponification of fats and fixed oils, used as a solvent, a skin emollient, and as a vehicle and sweetening agent; it is also used by injection or in suppository form for constipation and orally to reduce ocular tension.

Scientific definitions for glycerol

glycerol

[ 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: C3H8O3.