ethanol

ethanol — noun

1. a pure, strong form of alcohol obtained from fermented plants, used to make drin

1.nounC1
Definition

a pure, strong form of alcohol obtained from fermented plants, used to make drinks that cause drunkenness, as a clean-burning fuel, and as a medical disinfectant

Example

Ethanol is the main type of alcohol found in beer, wine, and spirits.

uncountable noun subject with 'is'

Many cars in Brazil burn ethanol instead of petrol.

collocation: burn ethanol (as fuel)

Common collocations
  • pure ethanol
  • denatured ethanol
  • ethanol fuel
  • ethanol production
  • ethanol plant
  • ethanol industry
  • ethanol blend
  • ethanol-based cleaner
  • ethanol-powered vehicle
  • run on ethanol
  • burn ethanol
  • produce ethanol
  • ethanol from corn/ sugarcane/ biomass
Synonyms
  • alcohol

    broader term; 'alcohol' covers all types including methanol and isopropanol, while 'ethanol' names one specific type

  • grain alcohol

    common name specifically for ethanol made from grains, often used in the context of drinks or home production

  • ethyl alcohol

    systematic chemical name; used mainly in scientific writing and product ingredient labels

Grammar Patterns

ethanol + verb (singular agreement)

pure / denatured ethanol

ethanol-based + noun

ethanol from + source

Usage Note

Common in scientific, industrial, and environmental contexts. More formal than everyday 'alcohol' — speakers would not normally say 'ethanol' for a drink they consume. Uncountable in most uses, but countable when specifying chemical types (e.g., 'various ethanols').

Common Mistakes

I don't drink ethanol.
I don't drink alcohol.
'Ethanol' is the scientific term; 'alcohol' is the everyday word for alcoholic drinks.

Word family

  • ethane
    nounC2
  • ethyl
    adjectiveC2
  • ethene
    nounC2
  • ethanoic
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Ethanol, grain alcohol, and ethyl alcohol all refer to the same chemical compound (C₂H₅OH), but they differ in register and usage context. 'Alcohol' is the broadest and most common term: it can refer to any member of the alcohol family (including methanol and isopropanol) but in daily speech it almost always means ethanol in drinks. 'Grain alcohol' is a non-technical name for ethanol produced from grains such as corn, wheat, or barley — it appears on product labels and in home-brewing contexts. 'Ethyl alcohol' is the systematic IUPAC-derived name found in scientific papers, chemical safety data sheets, and ingredient lists for medicines or cleaning products. A chemist in a lab would say 'ethyl alcohol' or 'ethanol'; a bartender would say 'alcohol' or 'spirits'; a fuel engineer would say 'ethanol' or 'grain alcohol' depending on the source material.

alcohol ↗grain alcoholethyl alcohol

Common collocations

Nouns

  • ethanol fuel
  • ethanol plant
  • ethanol production
  • ethanol industry
  • ethanol content
  • ethanol level
  • ethanol percentage

Phrases

  • pure ethanol
  • denatured ethanol
  • ethanol-based
  • ethanol-powered
  • run on ethanol
  • made from ethanol

Prepositions

  • ethanol from
  • ethanol in
  • ethanol as

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

Coined in the mid-1800s from 'ethane' (a hydrocarbon gas, from 'ether' + '-ane' suffix for saturated hydrocarbons) and '-ol' (a chemical suffix for alcohols, from Latin 'oleum' meaning oil). The systematic naming convention for alcohols was developed by the International Chemical Congress in 1892.