alcohol
Alcohol (noun) means ethanol, the intoxicating chemical found in beer, wine, and spirits. Example: “She avoids alcohol during the week.”
How to Use Alcohol
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe chemical in beer, wine, and spirits that makes them intoxicating; also used as a general chemistry term for a whole family of related compounds.
In everyday speech "alcohol" almost always means the drinkable kind (ethanol); the broader chemistry sense (isopropyl alcohol, etc.) is a separate, more technical use.
Word Forms
alcohols plural
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
She avoids _____ during the week.
Etymology
From Medieval Latin alcohol, from Arabic al-kuhl, originally referring to a fine powder (kohl eyeliner). The meaning shifted over centuries — first to "any fine powder," then to distilled spirits, and finally, by the 1800s, to the specific chemical ethanol.
Synonyms
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does “alcohol” mean?
The word “alcohol” means ethanol, the intoxicating chemical found in beer, wine, and spirits. In plain terms, the chemical in beer, wine, and spirits that makes them intoxicating; also used as a general chemistry term for a whole family of related compounds.
How do you pronounce “alcohol”?
“Alcohol” is pronounced AL-kuh-hol (/ˈæl.kə.hɔl/ in IPA).
How do you use “alcohol” in a sentence?
Here is “alcohol” used in a sentence: “She avoids alcohol during the week.”
What part of speech is “alcohol”?
“Alcohol” is a noun.
Where does the word “alcohol” come from?
The word “alcohol” dates back to around 1800 and comes from Medieval Latin.
Is “alcohol” a common word?
“Alcohol” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.
How many meanings does “alcohol” have?
“Alcohol” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: ethanol, the intoxicating chemical found in beer, wine, and spirits.
What is the difference between alcohol and ethanol?
In everyday speech, alcohol means the drinkable substance in beer, wine, and spirits — and that substance is ethanol. Ethanol is simply its precise chemical name. In chemistry, though, 'alcohol' covers a whole family of related compounds, many of which are toxic and not safe to drink, so the terms are not always interchangeable.
Is alcohol a drug?
Yes. Alcohol is classed as a drug because it changes how the brain and body work, acting as a depressant that slows the nervous system. It can impair judgement and coordination and is capable of causing dependence. It is legal and widely used, but medically it is still considered a psychoactive drug.
How is alcohol made?
The alcohol in drinks is produced by fermentation, in which yeast feeds on sugars from fruit, grain, or other plants and converts them into ethanol. Beer and wine are made this way. Spirits go a step further through distillation, which concentrates the alcohol to produce a much stronger drink.
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