alcohol

CEFRB1

/ˈæl.kə.hɒl/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A chemical substance in drinks that can make people drunk.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    Beverages containing ethanol, collectively.

Examples

  • I prefer cakes or candies to alcohol, but I do drink.

  • When can one say that a person has alcohol issues?

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
2
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈal.kɵ.hɔl/
  • /æl.kɔː.ɦɔːl/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Any of a class of organic compounds (such as ethanol) containing a hydroxyl functional group (-OH).

  2. Any very fine powder.

More examples

In context

  • This drink doesn't contain any alcohol.

  • Our stomachs and livers have an enzyme known as alcohol dehydrogenase that breaks down ethanol to make it less toxic for our bodies, said Atlanta gastroenterologist Dr. Preston Stewart.

  • Risk is everywhere. From tabloid headlines insisting that coffee causes cancer (yesterday, of course, it cured it) to stern government warnings about alcohol and driving, the world is teeming with goblins.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The doctor warned him to avoid any blank while taking this medication.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

First attested in the 15th century from Middle English alcofol, from Middle French alcohol or Spanish alcohol, derived from the Medieval Latin rendering alcohol transmitted in medical or alchemical literature of Arabic اَلْكُحْل (al-kuḥl, “kohl”), which in Andalusian Arabic also bore the form كُحُول (kuḥūl), قُحُول (quḥūl); bearing thus the meaning of stibnite first, then generalized in meaning to a powder obtained by triturating a material, then also to liquids obtained by boiling down, and specialized to mean spirit of wine, ethanol, in the 18th century, then the narrow chemical sense after 1850. Doublet of alcool and kohl. Various old etymological notes. * Bartholomew Traheron in his 154...