toluene

[ tol-yoo-een ]

/ ˈtɒl yuˌin /

Save This Word!

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.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Also called methylbenzene, phenylmethane.

Origin of toluene

First recorded in 1870–75; tolu + -ene

Words nearby toluene

Tolstoy, Leo, Toltec, tolu, toluate, Toluca, toluene, toluic, toluic acid, toluidine, toluidine blue O, toluol

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

How to use toluene in a sentence

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
Other dyes derived directly or indirectly from phenol will take us back once again to toluene.
Coal|Raphael Meldola
From benzene and toluene alone about forty distinct colouring-matters of the rosaniline group are sent into commerce.
Coal|Raphael Meldola
Already we see that benzene, toluene, solvent naphtha, and burning naphtha are separated from them.
Coal|Raphael Meldola

Now let us consider some of the transformations which benzene and toluene undergo in the hands of the manufacturing chemist.
Coal|Raphael Meldola

British Dictionary definitions for toluene

toluene

/ (ˈtɒljʊˌiːn) /

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

Scientific 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.