methanol

M3E1T1H4A1N1O1L1
/ˈmɛθənɒl/

noun

The simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH₃OH; a colourless, toxic, inflammable liquid, used as a solvent, antifreeze, in the chemical industry, and in the preparation of methylated spirit.

Similar
methyl alcoholmethyl hydratemethyl hydroxidemethylolmonohydroxymethanewood alcoholwood naphthawood spirits
Less commonScrabble 13
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Meanings

nounmethanol (countable and uncountable, plural methanols)

plural methanols

  1. countableuncountablechemistryThe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH₃OH; a colourless, toxic, inflammable liquid, used as a solvent, antifreeze, in the chemical industry, and in the preparation of methylated spirit.

    Eight staff members of a backpacker hostel in Laos have been detained by local authorities as they investigate the deaths of six foreign tourists from suspected methanol poisoning, according to state-affiliated media in the Southeast Asian country.

    2024 November 27, Jessie Yeung and Isaac Yee, “Laos detains foreign hostel staff over backpacker methanol poisonings as families and travelers demand answers”, in CNN, archived from the original on 19 Dec 2024

    Synonyms: methyl alcohol, methyl hydrate, methyl hydroxide, methylol, monohydroxymethane, wood alcohol, wood naphtha, wood spirits

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH₃OH; a colourless, toxic, inflammable liquid, used as a solvent, antifreeze, in the chemical industry, and in the preparation of methylated spirit.

Similar
methyl alcoholmethyl hydratemethyl hydroxidemethylolmonohydroxymethanewood alcoholwood naphthawood spirits

More synonyms by meaning

nouna light volatile flammable poisonous liquid alcohol; used as an antifreeze and solvent and fuel and as a denaturant for ethyl alcohol

Similar
methyl alcoholwood alcoholwood spirit
Broader
alcoholfuel
Also see
methyl alcoholmethyl hydratemethyl hydroxidemethylolmonohydroxymethanewood alcoholwood spiritwood spirits

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From methane + -ol. French chemists Jean-Baptiste Dumas and Eugene Peligot, after determining methanol's chemical structure, introduced "methylene" from the Ancient Greek μέθυ (méthu, “wine”) + ὕλη (húlē, “wood, material”) with the intention of highlighting its origins, "alcohol made from wood (substance)".

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan metanol
  • metanolthe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
Chinese Cantonese 甲醇
  • 甲醇 (gaap³ seon⁴)the simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
Chinese Mandarin 甲醇
  • 甲醇 (jiǎchún)the simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
Finnish metanoli
  • metanolithe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
French méthanol, alcool de bois
  • méthanolthe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
  • alcool de boisthe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
German Methanol
  • Methanolthe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
Greek μεθανόλη
  • μεθανόλη (methanóli)the simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
Hungarian metanol, metil-alkohol
  • metanolthe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
  • metil-alkoholthe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
  • faszeszthe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
Icelandic metanól
  • metanólthe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
Italian metanolo
  • metanolothe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
Japanese メタノール
  • メタノール (metanōru)the simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
Korean 메탄올, 메타놀
  • 메탄올 (metanol)the simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
  • 메타놀 (metanol)the simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
Norwegian Bokmål metanol
  • metanolthe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
Persian متانول
  • متانول (metânol)the simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
Polish alkohol metylowy, metanol
  • alkohol metylowythe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
  • metanolthe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
Portuguese metanol, álcool metílico
  • metanolthe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
  • álcool metílicothe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
Romanian metanol
  • metanolthe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
Russian метано́л
  • метано́л (metanól)the simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
Spanish metanol
  • metanolthe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
Swedish metanol, träsprit
  • metanolthe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
  • träspritthe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
Thai เมทานอล, เมทิลแอลกอฮอล์
  • เมทานอลthe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
  • เมทิลแอลกอฮอล์the simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
Turkish odun ruhu, metanol
  • odun ruhuthe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
  • metanolthe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
Vietnamese rượu mạnh gỗ, cồn gỗ
  • rượu mạnh gỗthe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH
  • cồn gỗthe simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Melanthoanthemolhotelman
Cite this entry
APA

methanol. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/methanol

MLA

“methanol.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/methanol. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “methanol,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/methanol.

Source: methanol on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.