benzoin
/ˈbɛnzəʊɪn/noun
benzoin is a noun meaning “A resinous substance, dry and brittle, obtained from Styrax benzoin, a tree of Sumatra, Java, etc., having a fragrant odor, and slightly aromatic…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled B-E-N-Z-O-I-N, and it appears about once in every 14 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of benzoin is benzoins.
What does benzoin mean?
noun
- 1
A resinous substance, dry and brittle, obtained from Styrax benzoin, a tree of Sumatra, Java, etc., having a fragrant odor, and slightly aromatic taste. It is used in the preparation of benzoic acid, in medicine, and as a perfume.
- 2
An aromatic hydroxy ketone, 2-hydroxy-1,2-di(phenyl)ethanone, synthesized from benzaldehyde; any derivative of this compound.
- 3
The spicebush, Lindera benzoin.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce benzoin?
- UK /ˈbɛnzəʊɪn/
- UK /ˈbɛnzɔɪn/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-benzoin.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of benzoin
- benzoins plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is benzoin?
Benzoin appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 114,361st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Benzoin in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.