methyl acetate

noun

: a flammable fragrant liquid C3H6O2 used as a solvent and paint remover and in organic synthesis

Word History

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of methyl acetate was in 1885

Rhymes for methyl acetate

See All Rhymes for methyl acetate

Browse Nearby Words

methyl
methyl acetate
methyl acetone
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Methyl acetate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/methyl%20acetate. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of deepfake

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

5 Verbal Slip Ups and Language Mistakes

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

5 Verbal Slip Ups and Language Mistakes

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All