creosote

CEFRB2

/ˈkɹiːəˌsəʊt/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A dark oily substance used to protect wood.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A similar brown liquid obtained from coal tar used as a wood preservative.

Examples

  • As the fence is exposed he will creosote it for protection.

  • The workers treated the wooden fence with creosote for protection.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
2

Also pronounced

  • /ˈkɹiːəˌsoʊt/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The creosote bush.

  2. A pale yellow oily liquid, containing phenols and similar compounds, obtained by the destructive distillation of wood tar, once used medicinally.

  3. A flammable black porous brittle glassy byproduct of wood burning, typically formed inside chimneys.

More examples

In context

  • Agnes was leaning over the creosoted garden gate …

  • On Shaw Butte, as elsewhere in the Phoenix area, creosotes are abundant, producing a plethora of small yellow flowers in late March and April.

  • "King Clone," a creosote plant (Larrea tridentata) found in southwest California, was estimated in February 1980 by Prof. Frank C. Vasek to be 11,700 years old.

Quick test

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The strong smell of blank filled the air near the railroad ties in the sun.

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Nearby

Origin

noun

From German Kreosot in the 1830s, coined in 1832 by German natural philosopher Carl Ludwig, Baron Reichenbach, from Ancient Greek κρέας (kréas, “flesh”) + σωτήρ (sōtḗr, “preserver”) for its use as an antiseptic and meat-preservative. The creosote bush was named after its scent. By surface analysis, containing creo-.