creosote
an oily liquid having a burning taste and a penetrating odor, obtained by the distillation of coal and wood tar, used mainly as a preservative for wood and as an antiseptic.
to treat with creosote.
Origin of creosote
1Other words from creosote
- cre·o·sot·ic [kree-uh-sot-ik], /ˌkri əˈsɒt ɪk/, adjective
- un·cre·o·sot·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use creosote in a sentence
Beech-wood creosote alone should be used in medicine, as its composition renders it much more valuable than other creosotes.
British Dictionary definitions for creosote
/ (ˈkrɪəˌsəʊt) /
a colourless or pale yellow liquid mixture with a burning taste and penetrating odour distilled from wood tar, esp from beechwood, contains creosol and other phenols, and is used as an antiseptic
Also called: coal-tar creosote a thick dark liquid mixture prepared from coal tar, containing phenols: used as a preservative for wood
to treat (wood) with creosote
Origin of creosote
1Derived forms of creosote
- creosotic (ˌkrɪəˈsɒtɪk), adjective
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 creosote
[ krē′ə-sōt′ ]
A yellow or brown oily liquid obtained from coal tar and used as a wood preservative and disinfectant.
A colorless to yellowish oily liquid containing phenols, obtained by the destructive distillation of wood tar, especially from the wood of a beech, and formerly used as an expectorant in treating chronic bronchitis.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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