Word.ws English Dictionary

oxybenzone

oxybenzone noun: a benzophenone compound widely used in sunscreens and plastics.

Noun

oxybenzone (uncountable)

  1. A benzophenone compound widely used in sunscreens and plastics.
    • Chemical ingredients — such as avobenzone, oxybenzone and homosalate — absorb the UV rays. Both types of sunscreen can degrade or wash off over time, so it’s important to reapply every two hours, and more frequently if you’re swimming or sweating.2023 July 15, Dana G. Smith, “Why Sunscreen Is the Only Anti-Aging Product You Need”, in The New York Times
    • As documented in a recent FDA study, chemical sunscreens, with active ingredients like oxybenzone, octocrylene, octinoxate, homosalate, and avobenzone, are applied to the skin and then can remain in the blood plasma at significant levels for days to weeks after application[.]2024 June 21, Danielle Sinay, quoting Madhu Shetti, “Is Sunscreen Bad for You? TikTok’s Anti-SPF Movement, Explained”, in Glamour

Origin of oxybenzone

From oxy- + benzone.

Questions about oxybenzone

What does oxybenzone mean?
Oxybenzone means a benzophenone compound widely used in sunscreens and plastics.
What part of speech is oxybenzone?
Oxybenzone is a noun.

Words near oxybenzone in the dictionary

  1. oxybenzene
  2. oxybenzenes
  3. oxybenzoate
  4. oxybenzoates
  5. oxybenzoic
  6. oxybenzone
  7. oxybiodegradable
  8. oxybiotic
  9. oxybismuthide
  10. oxybismuthides
  11. oxybromic

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: oxybenzone (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.

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