a colourless volatile flammable liquid with an odour resembling that of benzene, obtained from petroleum and coal tar and used as a solvent and in the manufacture of many organic chemicals. Formula: C6H5CH3
Word origin
C19: from tolu + -ene, since it was previously obtained from tolu
toluene in American English
(ˈtɑljuˌin)
noun
a colorless, liquid, flammable, poisonous hydrocarbon, C6H5CH3, obtained originally from balsam of Tolu but now generally from coal tar or petroleum, and used in making dyes, explosives, etc. and as a solvent
Word origin
tolu + benzene
Examples of 'toluene' in a sentence
toluene
It's not as if it's three thousand tons of benzene or toluene.