tetraethyl lead

noun

tet·​ra·​eth·​yl lead ˌte-trə-ˌe-thəl-ˈled 

: a heavy oily poisonous liquid Pb(C₂H₅)₄ used especially formerly as an antiknock agent

Examples of tetraethyl lead in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In the 1920s, a decade of robust American growth in every direction, this new substance—known as tetraethyl lead gasoline—quite literally fueled more powerful cars, more prosperous cities and a country on the rise. —Daniel Stone, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Feb. 2025

Starting in the 1920s, oil companies began adding tetraethyl lead to gasoline to reduce engine knocking. —Rachel Silverman Bonnifield, Foreign Affairs, 22 Jan. 2024

Lead pollution rose throughout the Industrial Revolution, but exposure skyrocketed after the first gallon of gasoline with tetraethyl lead was sold in 1923. —Michael J. Coren, Quartz, 16 June 2022

The avgas market is dominated by about eight US refineries and one (troubled) UK company producing the world’s supply of tetraethyl lead. —Michael J. Coren, Quartz, 16 June 2022

The new fuel was tetraethyl lead. —Bill Kovarik, The Conversation, 8 Dec. 2021

The dark truth about Ethyl is that everyone involved in its creation had seen incontrovertible evidence that tetraethyl lead was shockingly harmful to humans. —Steven Johnson, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2023

Virtually every small airplane in the US burns fuel containing tetraethyl lead (TEL), an additive introduced in the 1920s to boost octane levels. —David Yanofsky, Quartz, 16 June 2022

But humanity didn’t enter uncharted territory until the first gallon of gasoline was sold with tetraethyl lead in 1923. —Michael J. Coren, Quartz, 16 June 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1923, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tetraethyl lead

• abed
• ahead
• beachhead
• bedspread
• bedstead
• behead
• blackhead
• blockhead
• bloodshed
• bowhead
• breastfed
• bridgehead

Kids Definition

tetraethyl lead

noun

tet·​ra·​eth·​yl lead ˌte-trə-ˌeth-əl-ˈled 

: a heavy oily poisonous liquid added to gasoline to prevent engines from knocking

Medical Definition

tetraethyl lead

noun

tet·​ra·​eth·​yl lead ˌte-trə-ˌeth-əl-ˈled 

: a heavy oily poisonous liquid Pb(C₂H₅)₄ used as an antiknock agent in gasoline

called also lead tetraethyl