DictionaryAI

alcohol

noun
AL-kuh-hawl/ˈæl.kə.hɔl/AL-kuh-hol/ˈæl.kə.hɒl/

Pluralalcohols (some meanings)

4 meanings of alcohol

Practice

  1. 1
    drinksnoununcountable
    Drinks such as beer, wine, and liquor that contain a substance making people drunk.

    She never drinks alcohol at parties.

    The store cannot sell alcohol to anyone under twenty-one.

    UsageSay drink alcohol, not an alcohol. One glass is a drink.

    Similarliquor, drink

  2. 2
    nouncountable or uncountable
    The substance in beer and wine that makes people drunk. Scientists call it ethanol.

    Wine has less alcohol in it than whisky or vodka.

    Pure alcohol burns with a clear blue flame.

    UsageDoctors and most people just say alcohol.

    Similarethanol

    Note
  3. 3
    compound classnouncountable
    A kind of chemical built around a special oxygen-and-hydrogen part. Ethanol and methanol are two common ones.

    Like a family of chemicals that all share one special part, the way siblings share a last name.

    Methanol is a simple alcohol used in some fuels.

    Each alcohol in the test had a different boiling point.

    Note

Less common meaning

  1. 4
    nounobsoletecountable or uncountable
    A very fine powder, ground or refined as small as it can go.
    Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of alcohol apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

This word came into English in the 1400s. It goes back to Arabic al-kuḥl, meaning 'kohl,' a fine powder. Over time it came to mean any fine powder, then distilled liquids, and finally the alcohol in wine.

Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 5 facts