aerosol
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A cloud of solid or liquid particles in a gas.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ehruhsahlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɛɹəsɑl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
physics
A cloud of solid or liquid particles in a gas
“The spray nozzle creates an aerosol of tiny water droplets in the air.”
A mixture of fine solid particles or liquid droplets suspended in a gaseous medium.
The payload (e.g. insecticide, paint, oil, cosmetics) and propellant contained by an aerosol can.
A dispenser that holds a substance under pressure and that can release it as a fine spray (usually by means of a propellant gas)
verb
transitive
To spray with an aerosol.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A cloud of solid or liquid particles in a gas
Used this way, aerosol is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a scientific use: it names something precisely within a field of study, so it appears in research and teaching more than in conversation.
“The spray nozzle creates an aerosol of tiny water droplets in the air.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Science
- Academic writing
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Natural pattern: aerosol of …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use aerosol
- “The spray nozzle creates an aerosol of tiny water droplets in the air.”noun
- “She used an aerosol can to spray paint the old wooden chair.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Mixture / cloud
Dispenser
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A bomb that uses a fuel-air explosive.
A dispenser that holds a substance under pressure and that can release it as a fine spray (usually by means of a propellant gas).
A dispenser that holds a substance under pressure and that can release it as a fine spray (usually by means of a propellant gas).
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.