isopropyl alcohol

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noun Chemistry.

a colorless, flammable, water-soluble liquid, C3H8O, produced from propylene by the action of sulfuric acid and hydrolysis: used chiefly in the manufacture of antifreeze and rubbing alcohol and as a solvent.

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Also called dimethylcarbinol, isopropanol, secondary propyl alcohol.

Origin of isopropyl alcohol

First recorded in 1870–75

Words nearby isopropyl alcohol

isoprecipitin, isoprene, isoprenoid, isopropanol, isopropyl, isopropyl alcohol, isopropylbenzene, isopropyl ether, isopropyl group, isopropylideneacetone, isoproterenol

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use isopropyl alcohol in a sentence

Make sure to power off your device before you disinfect it gently with a cloth dipped in water and isopropyl alcohol.
Best wireless keyboard: Your next typing companion|PopSci Commerce Team|March 17, 2021|Popular-Science
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

Medical definitions for isopropyl alcohol

isopropyl alcohol

[ ī′sə-prō′pəl ]

A clear, colorless, flammable, mobile liquid used in antifreeze compounds, in lotions and cosmetics, and as a solvent for gums, shellac, and essential oils.

Scientific definitions for isopropyl alcohol

isopropyl alcohol

[ ī′sə-prō′pəl ]

A clear, colorless, flammable, mobile liquid that is one of the two isomers of propyl alcohol. It is used in antifreeze compounds, rubbing alcohol, lotions, and cosmetics, and also as a solvent for gums, shellac, and essential oils. Chemical formula: C3H8O.