ointment

ointment — noun

1. a thick, greasy paste — often holding a small amount of medicine — that you spre

1.nounB2
Definition

a thick, greasy paste — often holding a small amount of medicine — that you spread on sore, itchy, or injured skin so it heals faster or stops hurting.

Example

The nurse gave Mei a small tube of antibiotic ointment to put on her cut every night.

antibiotic ointment + apply to a wound

Carlos rubbed cooling ointment into his sunburned shoulders after the day at the beach.

rub ointment into [body part]

Common collocations
  • antibiotic ointment
  • antiseptic ointment
  • steroid ointment
  • eye ointment
  • apply ointment
  • a tube of ointment
Synonyms
  • salve

    very close in meaning; slightly old-fashioned, often homemade or herbal

  • balm

    soothing paste, often scented or for lips; less medical than ointment

  • cream

    lighter and water-based; absorbs faster than ointment

  • unguent

    formal or literary; rarely used in everyday speech

Grammar Patterns

apply ointment to [body part]

rub ointment on/into [body part]

a tube of ointment

Usage Note

Distinguish from 'cream' and 'lotion': an ointment is the greasiest of the three (oil-based, sits on the skin and lasts longer), a cream is lighter and absorbs faster, and a lotion is the thinnest (water-based, often pourable). Doctors choose ointment when they want the medicine to stay on dry or broken skin.

Common Mistakes

I put the ointment in my eye.
I put the ointment on my eye / in my eye area.
for skin, use 'on'; only specially-labelled 'eye ointment' goes near the eyeball, and even then 'apply to the lower eyelid' is more accurate.
She applied the ointment to her hair.
She applied the conditioner / hair mask to her hair.
'ointment' is for skin, not hair.
Idioms

a fly in the ointment

idiom

one small problem or annoying detail that spoils something which would otherwise be enjoyable or successful.

The trip to Kyoto was wonderful — the only fly in the ointment was the rain on our last day.

Marcus loved his new job; the long commute was the only fly in the ointment.

a/the fly in the ointment

idiom

A small problem or annoying person that spoils an otherwise good situation.

The sunny weather was perfect, but the traffic jam was a fly in the ointment.

Maya loved her new job, but the long commute was the fly in the ointment.

Word family

  • anoint
    verbC2
  • unguent
    nounC2

Common collocations

Nouns

  • antibiotic ointment
  • antiseptic ointment
  • steroid ointment
  • eye ointment
  • tube of ointment
  • jar of ointment

Adverbs

  • liberally
  • sparingly
  • thinly

Phrases

  • apply a thin layer of ointment
  • rub the ointment in gently
  • a fly in the ointment

Prepositions

  • apply ointment to [skin]
  • rub ointment on/into [body part]
  • ointment for [condition]

Etymology

Latin (unguere)Late Latin (unguimentum)Old French (oignement)Middle English

English picked up 'ointment' in the 1300s from Old French 'oignement', which came from Late Latin 'unguimentum'. The root is the Latin verb 'unguere', meaning 'to anoint' or 'to smear with oil' — the same root that gave us 'unguent' and 'anoint'. The 'oin-' spelling reflects the Old French pronunciation of the Latin 'ung-'.