toluene

[tol-yoo-een]

noun Chemistry.

a colorless, water-insoluble, flammable liquid, C7H8, having a benzenelike odor, obtained chiefly from coal tar and petroleum: used as a solvent in the manufacture of benzoic acid, benzaldehyde, TNT, and other organic compounds.

Nearby words

Origin of toluene

First recorded in 1870–75; tolu + -ene

Also called methylbenzene, phenylmethane.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for toluene

Toluene, alcohol, and chloroform all dissolve atropine readily.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 324, March 18, 1882|Various
Besides a cymene and a toluene, which have already been shown to exist in rosin spirit, metaxylene was found to be present.
Scientific American Supplement No. 275|Various
From benzene and toluene alone about forty distinct colouring-matters of the rosaniline group are sent into commerce.
Coal|Raphael Meldola
It is excreted when many aromatic compounds, such as benzoic acid and toluene, are taken internally.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 5|Various

A solution of hydrogen chloride in a poorly ionizing medium, like benzene or toluene, is an extremely poor conductor.
The Elements of Qualitative Chemical Analysis, vol. 1, parts 1 and 2.|Julius Stieglitz

British Dictionary definitions for toluene

toluene

noun

a colourless volatile flammable liquid with an odour resembling that of benzene, obtained from petroleum and coal tar and used as a solvent and in the manufacture of many organic chemicals. Formula: C 6 H 5 CH 3

Word Origin for toluene

C19: from tolu + -ene, since it was previously obtained from tolu

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

Word Origin and History for toluene

toluene

colorless liquid hydrocarbon, 1871, from German toluin (Berzelius, 1842), from Tolu, place in Colombia (now Santiago de Tolu) from which balsam of Tolu was obtained from the bark of certain trees. The chemical so called because it was first distilled from balsam of Tolu.

Science definitions for toluene

toluene

[tŏl′yōō-ēn′]

A clear, toxic, flammable liquid that is used in fuels, explosives, dyes, medicines, and many industrial chemicals. Toluene consists of a methyl group attached to benzene. Also called methylbenzene. Chemical formula: C7H8.