noun
1. : the part of the wood-tar distillate from which creosote is obtained by refining
2. : a yellowish to dark-colored heavy oil that consists chiefly of liquid and solid aromatic hydrocarbons, tar acids, and tar bases, is obtained by distillation of coal tar, and is used as a preservative for wood, as an insecticide, and in ore flotation — called also coal-tar creosote