Phrase guide

wood alcohol

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

The compound methyl alcohol or methanol.

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: wood spirit

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

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

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: methanol, methyl alcohol, wood spirit

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: alcohol, fuel

History

Etymology

Originally manufactured by the destructive distillation of wood.

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: метилов алкохол (metilov alkohol) — methanol — see also methanol, methyl alcohol
  • Catalan: alcohol de fusta — methanol — see also methanol, methyl alcohol
  • Chinese Mandarin: 木醇 (mùchún) — methanol — see also methanol, methyl alcohol
  • Finnish: puusprii — methanol — see also methanol, methyl alcohol
  • Finnish: metanoli — methanol — see also methanol, methyl alcohol
  • French: alcool de bois — methanol — see also methanol, methyl alcohol
  • German: Holzgeist — methanol — see also methanol, methyl alcohol
  • Hungarian: faszesz — methanol — see also methanol, methyl alcohol
  • Icelandic: tréspíri — methanol — see also methanol, methyl alcohol
  • Romanian: spirt de lemn — methanol — see also methanol, methyl alcohol
  • Swedish: träsprit — methanol — see also methanol, methyl alcohol
  • Turkish: odun ruhu — methanol — see also methanol, methyl alcohol
  • Turkish: metanol — methanol — see also methanol, methyl alcohol