Meanings
plural acetic acids
- countableuncountablechemistryA clear colourless organic acid, CH₃COOH, formed by the bacterial oxidation of ethanol through acetic fermentation; it is used as a solvent and has very many industrial applications; it is the major acidic component of vinegar.
Synonyms: E260 when used as a preservative, ethanoic acid, the systematic alternative name
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA clear colourless organic acid, CH₃COOH, formed by the bacterial oxidation of ethanol through acetic fermentation; it is used as a solvent and has very many industrial applications; it is the major acidic component of vinegar.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna colorless pungent liquid widely used in manufacturing plastics and pharmaceuticals
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Catalan àcid acètic
- àcid acèticclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Chinese Cantonese 乙酸, 醋酸
- 乙酸 (jyut⁶ syun¹)clear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
- 醋酸 (cou³ syun¹)clear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Chinese Mandarin 乙酸, 醋酸
- 乙酸 (yǐsuān)clear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
- 醋酸 (cùsuān)clear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Danish eddikesyre
- eddikesyreclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Dutch azijnzuur
- azijnzuurclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Finnish etikkahappo
- etikkahappoclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
French acide acétique
- acide acétiqueclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
German Essigsäure, Ethansäure
- Essigsäureclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
- Ethansäureclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Greek οξικό οξύ
- οξικό οξύ (oxikó oxý)clear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Hindi शुक्ताम्ल
- शुक्ताम्ल (śuktāmla)clear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Hungarian ecetsav
- ecetsavclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Indonesian asam cuka, asam asetat
- asam cukaclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
- asam asetatclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Irish aigéad aicéiteach
- aigéad aicéiteachclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Italian acido acetico
- acido aceticoclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Japanese 酢酸
- 酢酸 (sakusan)clear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Latvian etiķskābe
- etiķskābeclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Malay asid asetik
- asid asetikclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Māori waikawa winika
- waikawa winikaclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Norwegian Bokmål eddiksyre
- eddiksyreclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Persian استیک اسید
- استیک اسید (asetik asid)clear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Polish kwas octowy
- kwas octowyclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Portuguese ácido acético
- ácido acéticoclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Romanian acid acetic
- acid aceticclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Russian у́ксусная кислота́
- у́ксусная кислота́ (úksusnaja kislotá)clear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Spanish ácido acético
- ácido acéticoclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Swedish ättiksyra, etansyra
- ättiksyraclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
- etansyraclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Turkish asetik asit
- asetik asitclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Vietnamese axit axetic
- axit axeticclear colourless organic acid, CH3COOH
Cite this entry
acetic acid. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/acetic%20acid
“acetic acid.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/acetic%20acid. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “acetic acid,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/acetic%20acid.
Source: acetic acid on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.