asbestos
noun/æsˈbestɒs/
/æzˈbestəs/
[uncountable]- a soft grey mineral that does not burn and can be woven into material, used especially in the past in building as a protection against fire or to prevent heat loss. Asbestos is dangerous if you breathe it in.Topics The environmentc2, Buildingsc2Oxford Collocations DictionaryAsbestos is used before these nouns:
- exposure
- fibre
Word Originearly 17th cent., via Latin from Greek asbestos ‘unquenchable’ (applied by Dioscurides to quicklime), from a- ‘not’ + sbestos (from sbennumi ‘quench’).Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
asbestos