essential oil

noun

: an oil that comes from a plant, that smells like the plant it comes from, and that is used in perfumes and flavorings

Full Definition of ESSENTIAL OIL

: 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

See essential oil defined for English-language learners

First Known Use of ESSENTIAL OIL

1674

Rhymes with ESSENTIAL OIL

canola oil, coconut oil, cod-liver oil, cottonseed oil, induction coil, residual oil, sandalwood oil, sesame oil, tropical oil, vegetable oil, volatile oil, water milfoil

Medical Dictionary

essential oil

noun

Medical Definition of ESSENTIAL OIL

: 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