methyl alcohol

American

noun

Chemistry.

a colorless, volatile, water-soluble, poisonous liquid, CH 4 O, obtained by the destructive distillation of wood or the incomplete oxidation of natural gas, or produced synthetically from carbon monoxide and hydrogen, used chiefly as a solvent, a fuel, and an automobile antifreeze and in the synthesis of formaldehyde.

methyl alcohol British

noun

another name for methanol

"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

methyl alcohol Scientific

See methanol

Etymology

Origin of methyl alcohol

First recorded in 1840–50

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.

In 2002, fire ignited several 10,000-gallon tanks of methyl alcohol.

From Washington Times • May 12, 2016

Recommend ReportPermalinkreply Junoir in reply to Seven839 Oct 30th 2012 17:36 GMT "BTW corruption in the Czech republic has reached new levels...after methyl alcohol fiasco now the new accusation about the vegetable oils containing pesticides".

From Economist • Oct. 19, 2012

The engines gleamed like platinum; for fuel some burned an explosive mixture of methyl alcohol and nitromethane.

From Time Magazine Archive

Among the pungent odors of formaldehyde and methyl alcohol, the smell of Chiclet chewing gum is still discernible.

From Time Magazine Archive

An isomer of chloral, parachloralide, is made by passing excess of dry chlorine into absolute methyl alcohol.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 3 "Chitral" to "Cincinnati" by Various

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