Standard Lemma guide

butanone

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A simple aliphatic ketone, CH3CH2COCH3, prepared industrially as a solvent, for use in the manufacture of paints, parts cleaning, and other tasks.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: chemistry, natural-sciences, organic-chemistry, physical-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: 2-butanone, MEK, methyl ethyl ketone, ethylmethylketone, methylpropanone

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: solvent, compound, substance

2

noun

Meaning 2

colorless soluble flammable liquid ketone used as a solvent for resins and as a paint remover and in lacquers and cements and adhesives and cleaning fluids and celluloid

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: methyl ethyl ketone

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: ketone

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 丁酮 (dīngtóng) — the simple aliphatic ketone: CH3CH2COCH3
  • Finnish: butanoni — the simple aliphatic ketone: CH3CH2COCH3
  • French: butanone — the simple aliphatic ketone: CH3CH2COCH3
  • Portuguese: butanona — the simple aliphatic ketone: CH3CH2COCH3
  • Spanish: butanona — the simple aliphatic ketone: CH3CH2COCH3
  • Spanish: metiletilcetona — the simple aliphatic ketone: CH3CH2COCH3
  • Swedish: butanon — the simple aliphatic ketone: CH3CH2COCH3