How to Use creosote in a Sentence

creosote

noun
  • Tree stumps and old fence posts rise amid the creosote and waist-high tamarisk.
    — Anne Burke, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 Apr. 2018
  • One day, a guard walked up to this kid and pushed him in the creosote bin.
    — Winfred Rembert, The New Yorker, 3 May 2021
  • Dirty chimneys — those with a build-up of creosote — can cause fires.
    — Pat Setter, sandiegouniontribune.com, 14 Oct. 2017
  • The sunbaked air smells like creosote.
    — Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Wet wood creates more smoke, which leads to faster creosote buildup—and greater risk.
    — Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 2 Nov. 2025
  • Now, the ruins of an adobe house stand among the creosote bushes.
    — Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2022
  • While driving along, a shiny gleam in the creosote bushes caught my eye.
    — James Card, New York Times, 25 July 2017
  • The damper should operate freely, and the flue should be free of any creosote buildup.
    — John Nugent, Chron, 31 Oct. 2020
  • Their flammable oils will coat your chimney with creosote and increase your risk of a fire.
    — Charlie Wood, Popular Science, 26 Dec. 2019
  • This will minimize the buildup of creosote in the chimney.
    — Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 10 Jan. 2026
  • Build-ups of creosote in the chimney lining can ignite from sparks and embers.
    — Linda Gandee/special To Cleveland.com, cleveland, 11 Nov. 2019
  • Fresher evergreens are full of sap and creosote, and produce a dirty, oily smoke.
    — Nicole Clausing, Sunset Magazine, 19 Jan. 2023
  • This happens when creosote—a tar-like residue that clings to the inside of the chimney—ignites.
    — Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 2 Nov. 2025
  • Keeping company with the ironwood trees are mesquite, paloverde, creosote and saguaro.
    — latimes.com, 26 Apr. 2017
  • The smell of creosote floats up from the floor in the factory, made from slices of wood that go back decades, to the days when weapons were packed there.
    — Ely Portillo, charlotteobserver, 25 Jan. 2018
  • They’re not intended to contain the type of intense fire caused by burning creosote.
    — Bradley Ford, Popular Mechanics, 15 Dec. 2022
  • Burning the tree can contribute to creosote buildup results in a chimney fire.
    — Leada Gore, AL.com, 26 Dec. 2017
  • These gasses can condense and create deposits of creosote on the chimney liner.
    — Bradley Ford, Popular Mechanics, 15 Dec. 2022
  • The distinctive fragrance produced by creosote oil has been described as sweet and earthy.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Dec. 2021
  • In the throbbing summer heat, willow groves smell like creosote below an old railroad.
    — Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 16 Apr. 2020
  • The trail is wide and plush with saguaros, cholla, ocotillo, creosote, yucca and granite boulders.
    — Sonja Haller, azcentral, 9 Feb. 2015
  • The hills are covered in creosote and mesquite, the gullies are full of sage, and there are lots of prickly pears and saw palmetto.
    — Seth Harp, Rolling Stone, 14 June 2021
  • The oily, tar-like creosote inside your firebox can be dissolved with an alkaline cleaner.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 5 Oct. 2025
  • After scraping away excess creosote, Mueller checks the firebox for cracks or gaps between bricks.
    — Eddie Morales, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5 Mar. 2020
  • Perennials like brittlebush, creosote and the little flame tongues of chuparosa are out.
    — Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 21 Feb. 2026
  • Which is why locals and former Phoenicians alike enjoy hanging a bushel of creosote in the shower for a dreamy steam.
    — Arizona Republic and Reviewed Staff, USA TODAY, 15 Nov. 2019
  • He had been shipped there for crimes against the Directorate and had spent years driving truckloads of creosote to the canyon and dumping them in.
    — Author: Garrison Keillor, Alaska Dispatch News, 12 Oct. 2017
  • Keep an eye out for the foundations of the defunct Spur Cross dude ranch crumbling among cholla and creosote shrubs.
    — Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 5 Feb. 2022
  • Spiky Mexican feathergrass pushes through the gravel in the high desert that smells of creosote after a light rain.
    — Laura Trujillo, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
  • Here, the rocky hillsides are dotted with agave, creosote and cactus patches, where this woodpecker can be found feeding and nesting.
    — Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Sep. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'creosote.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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