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

For a fresh scent, add a few drops of your preferred essential oil or fresh lemon juice. —Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 21 Oct. 2024

Add about 30 drops of your favorite odor-fighting essential oil. —Cody Godwin, USA TODAY, 24 Sep. 2024

Tips For Choosing The Right Candle Scent Notes Most candles will either have fragrance oils, essential oils, or a combination of both in them. —Moriah Mason, Southern Living, 16 Oct. 2024

The essential oil tray provides a place to put your favorite essential oil on a cotton pad. —Terri Williams, Architectural Digest, 14 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1674, in the meaning defined above

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