Definition of: creosote

(krē′ə·sōt) noun Chem.
1. An oily liquid consisting principally of cresol and other phenols, obtained by the destructive distillation of wood and having a smoky odor and burning taste: it is an antiseptic, but a poor germicide, and is used to preserve timber, meat, etc.
2. A similar liquid distilled from coal tar: also coal–tar creosote.
—v.t. ·sot·ed, ·sot·ing To treat or impregnate with creosote, as shingles, etc. [<Gk. kreas flesh + sōtēr preserver <sōzein save]