The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
n. A white or yellowish crystalline compound, C8H8O3, found in vanilla beans and certain balsams and resins and used in perfumes, flavorings, and pharmaceuticals.
n. The name of a chemical compound, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde, which is the primary constituent of vanilla.
n. Synthetic compound used as a substitute for the extract of the vanilla bean.
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
n. A white crystalline aldehyde having a burning taste and characteristic odor of vanilla. It is extracted from vanilla pods, and is also obtained by the decomposition of coniferin, and by the oxidation of eugenol.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. The neutral odoriferous principle (C8H8O3) of vanilla.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
n. a crystalline compound found in vanilla beans and some balsam resins; used in perfumes and flavorings
Word Usage
"Nature identical molecules are man-made molecules that are present in food and recreated by scientists vanillin, which is a dominant molecule in vanilla, is an example of this."