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Showing results for greasy. Search instead for non-greasy.
Synonyms

greasy

American  
[gree-see, ‑zee] / ˈgri si, ‑zi /

adjective

greasier, greasiest

  1. smeared, covered, or soiled with grease.

  2. composed of or containing grease; oily.

    greasy food.

  3. greaselike in appearance or to the touch; slippery.

  4. insinuatingly unctuous in manner; repulsively slick; oily.

  5. Veterinary Pathology. affected with grease.

greasy British  
/ -sɪ, ˈɡriːzɪ /

adjective

  1. coated or soiled with or as if with grease

  2. composed of or full of grease

  3. resembling grease

  4. unctuous or oily in manner

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a shearer

  2. an outback cook, esp cooking for a number of men

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Pronunciation

greasy is almost always pronounced as , with a medial , in the South Midland and Southern U.S. and as , with a medial , in New England, New York State, and the Great Lakes Basin. Speakers of New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania are divided, with some using and some using . Standard British English reflects both and pronunciations and British folk speech is also divided regionally, with heard in the eastern counties and in the central and western ones. Both pronunciations were brought to the colonies, where the present U.S. pattern emerged.

Other Word Forms

  • greasily adverb
  • greasiness noun
  • nongreasy adjective
  • overgreasiness noun
  • overgreasy adjective
  • ungreasy adjective

Etymology

Origin of greasy

First recorded in 1505–15

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The brown, greasy, bleach-flavored clouds were taking something with them, something of the paradise spirit.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

"It's a dying trade," 61-year-old Maria Wade said of her job as a "greasy mender" at Alex Begg, a semi-rural mill that has been based in Ayr in southwest Scotland for more than a century.

From Barron's • Feb. 20, 2026

What emerges is never too heavy or too greasy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025

Wales then had a chance of their own, Metcalfe involved once again, but Donna Rose knocked on in greasy conditions with the try line in sight.

From BBC • Jul. 26, 2025

He still said nothing, only continued chewing the greasy dough.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.