tetraethyl
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of tetraethyl
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 1921, General Motors engineers discovered that tetraethyl lead could make internal combustion engines run more smoothly and reduce engine knock.
From Salon • Sep. 5, 2021
Similarly, several decades later, the introduction of tetraethyl lead into gasoline raised environmental concerns, but was tolerated as a necessary lubricant for the adoption of the internal combustion engine.
From New York Times • Jun. 18, 2018
As Americans took to the road during the postwar boom in car travel, the amount of tetraethyl lead in the nation’s air and soil rapidly increased.
From Time • Jun. 28, 2016
GM marketers would later call lead “a gift from God,” and tetraethyl lead would be used for the next 50 years in American gasoline—despite early concerns.
From Slate • Aug. 21, 2015
On the other hand, lead was easy to extract and work, and almost embarrassingly profitable to produce industrially–and tetraethyl lead did indubitably stop engines from knocking.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
