alcohol
Syllables: al·co·hol/ˈæl.kə.hɒl//ˈæl.kə.hɔl/
alcohol noun: any of a class of organic compounds (such as ethanol) containing a hydroxyl functional group (-OH).
Noun
alcohol (countable and uncountable, plural alcohols)
- Any of a class of organic compounds (such as ethanol) containing a hydroxyl functional group (-OH).
- Our stomachs and livers have an enzyme known as alcohol dehydrogenase that breaks down ethanol to make it less toxic for our bodies, said Atlanta gastroenterologist Dr. Preston Stewart.2012 September 26, Jacque Wilson, “Experts: Alcohol enemas ‘extremely dangerous’”, in CNN
- Ethanol.
- Beverages containing ethanol, collectively.
- Risk is everywhere. From tabloid headlines insisting that coffee causes cancer (yesterday, of course, it cured it) to stern government warnings about alcohol and driving, the world is teeming with goblins.2013 June 22, “Snakes and ladders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, archived from the original on 24 Aug 2019, page 76
- Synonyms:
- adult beverage, bevvy, booze, carouse, drink, fuddling, grog, hard drink, libation, liquor
- Any very fine powder.
alcohol meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
alcohol in Hindi
- organic chemistry sense
- सुरासार surāsār, मद्यसार madyasār, अल्कुहुल alkuhul, अलकोहल alkohal, ऍल्कॉहॉल ĕlkŏhŏl
- intoxicating beverage
- मदिरा madirā, मद्य madya, शराब śarāb, दारू dārū
alcohol in Tamil
- சாராயம், மது, மதுசாரம், வெறியம், சேதனச் சேர்ம வகைகளுள் ஒன்று
alcohol in Urdu
- organic chemistry sense
- اَلْکُحُل alkuhul
- intoxicating beverage
- شَراب śarāb, مَدِیرا madīrā
alcohol in Bengali
- organic chemistry sense
- এলকোহল elkōhol, আলকোহল alkōhol
- intoxicating beverage
- মদ্য moddo
More languagesFewer languages
- alcohol in Telugu
- మందు mandu
- alcohol in Malayalam
- മദ്യം madyaṁ, കള്ള് kaḷḷŭ
- alcohol in Kannada
- ಹೆಂಡ
- alcohol in Punjabi
- ਸ਼ਰਾਬ śarāb, ਦਾਰੂ dārū
- alcohol in Gujarati
- શરાબ śarāb, દારૂ dārū, આલ્કોહોલ ālkohol
- alcohol in Odia
- ମଦ mada
- alcohol in Sanskrit
- मद्य madya
- alcohol in Sinhala
- මත්පැන් matpæn
- alcohol in Assamese
- এলক'হল elok'hol, এলকোহল elkühol
- alcohol in Pashto
- الکول alkol, شراب šarāb
- alcohol in Tagalog
- alkohol
- alcohol in Arabic
- كُحُول kuḥūl, غُول ḡūl, مَشْرُوب كُحُولِيّ mašrūb kuḥūliyy, مَشْرُوب رُوحِيّ mašrūb rūḥiyy
- alcohol in Malay
- alkohol, arak, minuman keras
- alcohol in Indonesian
- alkohol, arak
- alcohol in Thai
- แอลกอฮอล์ ɛn-gɔɔ-hɔɔ, สุรา sù-raa, เหล้า lâo
- alcohol in Vietnamese
- rượu, rượu cồn, tửu
- alcohol in Myanmar
- အယ်လ်ကိုဟော ailkuihau:, အရက် a.rak
Examples of alcohol in a sentence
- Smoking kills more people each year than alcohol and hard drugs combined.
- This medication can interact with alcohol, so it's best to avoid drinking while you're taking it.
- Alcohol is often a cheap tool to alleviate the stress of a hard day.
Synonyms of alcohol
11 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of alcohol
| plural | alcohols |
|---|
Origin of alcohol
First attested in the 15th century from Middle English alcofol, from Middle French alcohol or Spanish alcohol, derived from the Medieval Latin rendering alcohol transmitted in medical or alchemical literature of Arabic اَلْكُحْل (al-kuḥl, “kohl”), which in Andalusian Arabic also bore the form كُحُول (kuḥūl), قُحُول (quḥūl); bearing thus the meaning of stibnite first, then generalized in meaning to a powder obtained by triturating a material, then also to liquids obtained by boiling down, and specialized to mean spirit of wine, ethanol, in the 18th century, then the narrow chemical sense after 1850. Doublet of alcool and kohl. Various old etymological notes. * Bartholomew Traheron in his 1543 translation of John of Vigo introduces the word as a term used by "barbarous" (Moorish) authors for "fine powder": the barbarous auctours use alcohol, or (as I fynde it sometymes wryten) alcofoll, for moost fine poudre. * William Johnson in his 1657 Lexicon Chymicum glosses the word as antimonium sive stibium. By extension, the word came to refer to any fluid obtained by distillation, including "alcohol of wine", the distilled essence of wine. * Libavius in Alchymia (1594) has vini alcohol vel...
Words formed from alcohol
- absolute alcohol
- acetic alcohol
- alcohol abuse
- alcohol addiction
- alcoholaemia
- alcoholase
- alcoholate
- alcohol burner
- alcohol by volume
- alcohol clamp
- alcohol dehydrogenase
- alcohol enema
- alcohol flush reaction
- alcohol-free
- alcoholic
- alcoholicity
- alcoholiday
- alcohol intoxication
- alcoholism
- alcoholization
- alcoholize
- alcoholless
- alcoholly
- alcoholmeter
- alcohologist
- alcohology
- alcohololysis
- alcoholomania
- alcoholometer
- alcoholometric
- alcoholometry
- alcoholophilia
- alcohol poisoning
- alcohol-related dementia
- alcohol use disorder
- alcohol withdrawal syndrome
- alcoholy
- alcoholysis
- alcolock
- alcopop
- alcotest
- alcotourism
- alcotourist
- alkoxyalcohol
- alkyl
- allyl alcohol
- amino alcohol
- amyl alcohol
- antialcohol
- azidoalcohol
- benzyl alcohol
- bioalcohol
- butyl alcohol
- cetyl alcohol
- chloral
- coniferyl alcohol
- denatured alcohol
- deoxy sugar alcohol
- diesohol
- epoxyalcohol
Phrases with alcohol
- wood alcohol
- ethyl alcohol
- fatty alcohol
- fusel alcohol
- grain alcohol
- sugar alcohol
- alcohol enemas
- lauryl alcohol
- methyl alcohol
- propyl alcohol
- sulfur alcohol
- vinous alcohol
32 more phrasesFewer phrases
- alcohol burners
- isoamyl alcohol
- neutral alcohol
- primary alcohol
- rubbing alcohol
- sulphur alcohol
- unit of alcohol
- perillyl alcohol
- tertiary alcohol
- units of alcohol
- isopropyl alcohol
- neopentyl alcohol
- phenethyl alcohol
- polyvinyl alcohol
- propargyl alcohol
- secondary alcohol
- alcohol addictions
- alcohol poisonings
- held one's alcohol
- hold one's alcohol
- polyhydric alcohol
- holds one's alcohol
- alcohol use disorders
- holding one's alcohol
- alcohol use disordered
- fetal alcohol syndrome
- alcohol flush reactions
- fetal alcohol syndromes
- foetal alcohol syndrome
- foetal alcohol syndromes
- fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
- fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
Questions about alcohol
- What does alcohol mean?
- Alcohol means any of a class of organic compounds (such as ethanol) containing a hydroxyl functional group (-OH).
- What is alcohol in Hindi?
- Alcohol in Hindi is सुरासार (surāsār), मद्यसार (madyasār), अल्कुहुल (alkuhul). See Alcohol meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is alcohol?
- Alcohol is a noun.
- How do you pronounce alcohol?
- Alcohol is pronounced /ˈæl.kə.hɒl/ (UK).
- What is the plural of alcohol?
- The plural of alcohol is alcohols.
Words near alcohol in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: alcohol (page history and authors); alcohol (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); మందు (Telugu) (page history and authors); alcohol (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); આલ્કોહોલ (Gujarati) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-uk-alcohol.ogg, en-us-alcohol.ogg.
Cite this entry: “alcohol.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/alcohol. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.