Definition of "paraffin" [par•af•fin]

• A waxy white or colorless solid hydrocarbon mixture used to make candles, wax paper, lubricants, and sealing materials. Also called paraffin wax. (noun)
• Chemistry A member of the alkane series. (noun)
• Chiefly British Kerosene. (noun)
• To saturate, impregnate, or coat with paraffin. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I bought a chunk of paraffin from the canning-supplies section of a grocery store more than 15 years ago and haven't even come close to using 1/4 of it yet."
• "Moreover, it was known that ligation of the ducts of the pancreas, or their injection by oil or paraffin, is not followed by diabetes."
• "The next and the most important derivative is the petroleum oil, used for burning in paraffin-lamps."