We determine the strong coupling constant $alpha_s$ from the static QCD potential by matching a theoretical calculation with a lattice QCD computation. We employ a new theoretical formulation based on the operator product expansion, in which renormalons are subtracted from the leading Wilson coefficient. We remove not only the leading renormalon uncertainty of $mathcal{O}(Lambda_{rm QCD})$ but also the first $r$-dependent uncertainty of $mathcal{O}(Lambda_{rm QCD}^3 r^2)$. The theoretical prediction for the potential turns out to be valid at the static color charge distance $Lambda_{rm overline{MS}} r lesssim 0.8$ ($r lesssim 0.4$ fm), which is significantly larger than ordinary perturbation theory. With lattice data down to $Lambda_{rm overline{MS}} r sim 0.09$ ($r sim 0.05$ fm), we perform the matching in a wide region of $r$, which has been difficult in previous determinations of $alpha_s$ from the potential. Our final result is $alpha_s(M_Z^2) = 0.1179^{+0.0015}_{-0.0014}$ with 1.3 % accuracy. The dominant uncertainty comes from higher order corrections to the perturbative prediction and can be straightforwardly reduced by simulating finer lattices.
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