diesel
adjective
noting a machine or vehicle powered by a diesel engine.
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Diesmal.
diesel
1 American
[dee-zuhl, -suhl]
/ ˈdi zəl, -səl /
Or
Diesel
adjective
-
noting a machine or vehicle powered by a diesel engine.
diesel locomotive.
-
of or relating to a diesel engine.
diesel fuel.
Diesel
2
American
[dee-zuhl, -suhl]
/ ˈdi zəl, -səl /
noun
diesel
1
British
/ ˈdiːzəl /
noun
-
See diesel engine
-
a ship, locomotive, lorry, etc, driven by a diesel engine
-
informal short for diesel oil
-
slang any cola drink
spook and diesel
-
See suck
Diesel
2
British
/ ˈdiːzəl /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of diesel
After R. Diesel, the engine's inventor
Explanation
A diesel is a type of engine that produces enough heat to burn fuel and power a vehicle. Most diesels run on very thick, heavy oil. Large trucks use diesels — also known as diesel engines — and so do some cars, trains, and ships. The earliest diesel was developed in the late 19th century, and its invention is credited to the German engineer Rudolph Diesel, although other inventors laid the groundwork with their development of a very similar type of engine.
Vocabulary lists containing diesel
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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.
See Examples For:
The plant -- which is close to the front line of the war -- has repeatedly suffered power cuts, with emergency diesel generators providing power for crucial cooling functions.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
Crude oil prices shot up after the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, which in turn pushed up petrol and diesel prices and domestic energy costs around the world.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Investigators linked the tanker to 2.6 million gallons of Texas diesel falsely labeled as lubricating oil additives.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
Margins for making products like jet fuel, diesel and gasoline climbed to record highs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
The overlanders were mixed up with pickup trucks and vans jammed with people, and the road reeked of diesel smoke.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
Richard Turner, who owns Diesel in Brentwood, was among a small group of store owners who decided to organize the event.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Diesel, which yields more energy than gasoline, is the fuel of choice for heavy-duty vehicles such as commercial trucks, school buses and farm machinery.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
Diesel futures jumped even more, rising 11%, after Russia said it would ban exports of the crucial fuel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Diesel, gasoline, oil and related commodities were once again most frequently mentioned as up in price in June—and cited as down in price from other respondents, said the report.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Diesel generators pumped the water that Luis spread over the new grove.
From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor
Replacing the 200,000 buses with another round of health-hazardous diesels would cost between $60 billion to $80 billion; after accounting for rollout costs, full electric replacement would cost about 2.5 times as much.
From Salon ● May 23, 2024
But in general petrol cars made before 2005 and diesels built before September 2014 will not be allowed in the zone.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2023
Had they been conventional diesels, they would have created a smelly cacophony as they idled.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 26, 2022
Non-profit RMI said the IRA's up to $40,000 Qualified Commercial Clean Vehicle tax credit "will turbocharge adoption of electric medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks." and will electric trucks cheaper to operate than diesels in most cases.
From Reuters ● Sep. 21, 2022
“She’s forty-six feet. Twin diesels, eight hundred horses.”
From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen
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.
