ethanol
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
a type of liquid fuel made from plants that can power car engines.
ethyl alcohol used as a biofuel additive or standalone fuel for internal combustion engines.
Simple“Many petrol stations now sell fuel that contains ten percent ethanol.”
In context“The government introduced subsidies for farmers growing corn specifically for ethanol production to reduce the nation's reliance on imported petroleum.”
Synonymsbiofuelgasohol
“Each one gets preserved in a jar of ethanol and sent to the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions to have its DNA extracted.”
“Czech researchers at Charles University in Prague, led by Pavla Eliášová, have developed an advanced photocathode that helps convert the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into pure ethanol using sunlight.”
Contracted from ethyl + alcohol. Ethyl is from Ancient Greek αἰθήρ (aithḗr, “ether”), influenced by German Äthyl. May be decomposed as ethane + -ol.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.