essential oil

noun

: any of a class of volatile oils that give plants their characteristic odors and are used especially in perfumes and flavorings, and for aromatherapy compare fixed oil

Examples of essential oil in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
For one, the house features a charming courtyard and a lush aromatic garden ending with an extraction chamber replete with alembics, historically used for the distillation of essential oils. —Sandra Salibian, WWD, 14 Jan. 2025 The soothing sound of water from the fountains, accompanied by the fragrant aromas of essential oils immediately ease the senses once inside the spa. —Bianca Salonga, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025 Free of alcohol and fluoride, this harnesses charcoal, antioxidants, and essential oils to detox your mouth and whiten your teeth. —Kiana Murden, Vogue, 6 Jan. 2025 To protect yourself, dilute vinegar with water and essential oils with carrier oils. —Adrienne Dellwo, Verywell Health, 4 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for essential oil 

Word History

First Known Use

1674, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of essential oil was in 1674

Dictionary Entries Near essential oil

essentially

essential oil

essential predication

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Essential oil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/essential%20oil. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

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Medical Definition

essential oil

noun
: any of a large class of volatile odoriferous oils of vegetable origin that give plants their characteristic odors and often other properties, that are obtained from various parts of the plants (as flowers, leaves, or bark) by steam distillation, expression, or extraction, that are usually mixtures of compounds (as aldehydes or esters), and that are used often in the form of essences in perfumes, flavorings, and pharmaceutical preparations

called also ethereal oil, volatile oil

compare fatty oil, fixed oil

More from Merriam-Webster on essential oil

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about essential oil

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