Definition of "phenol" [phe•nol]

• A caustic, poisonous, white crystalline compound, C6H5OH, derived from benzene and used in resins, plastics, and pharmaceuticals and in dilute form as a disinfectant and antiseptic. Also called carbolic acid. (noun)
• Any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring. (noun)

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.

• "Gestapo patience at last having worn thin, an injection of phenol is administered and now Kolbe too is dead."
• "Like benzene, the homologous aromatic hydrocarbons, toluene, xylenes, etc. fix directly six hydrogen atoms to produce the corresponding cyclic compounds; phenol is transformed into cyclohexanol, aniline into cyclohexylamine."
• "The phenol is an antigumming substance and the acid is an antistatic agent."