phenol

noun

1. a white crystalline compound, CHOH, produced from coal tar or by the hydrolysis of chlorobenzene, and used in making explosives, synthetic resins, etc.: it is a strong, corrosive poison with a characteristic odor, and its dilute aqueous solution, commonly called carbolic acid, is used as an antiseptic, disinfectant, etc.
2. any of a group of aromatic hydroxyl derivatives of benzene, similar in structure and composition to phenol