methyl alcohol

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. 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.

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methyl alcohol British  

noun

1. another name for methanol

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methyl alcohol Scientific  

1. See methanol

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Etymology

Origin of methyl alcohol

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

methyl alcohol

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

The EPA regulates his factory because one of its by-products is methyl alcohol, which can contribute to ozone pollution.

From Time Magazine Archive

This result is achieved by adding some of the methyl alcohol derived from the vapour given off by wood when heated.

From Marvels of Scientific Invention An Interesting Account in Non-technical Language of the Invention of Guns, Torpedoes, Submarine Mines, Up-to-date Smelting, Freezing, Colour Photography, and many other recent Discoveries of Science by Thomas W. Corbin