fossil fuel

American

[fos-uhl fyoo-uhl] / ˈfɒs əl ˈfyu əl /

noun

Energy.

any combustible organic material, as oil, coal, or natural gas, derived from the remains of former life.

fossil fuel British

noun

any naturally occurring carbon or hydrocarbon fuel, such as coal, petroleum, peat, and natural gas, formed by the decomposition of prehistoric organisms

"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

fossil fuel Scientific

A hydrocarbon fuel, such as petroleum, coal, or natural gas, derived from the accumulated remains of ancient plants and animals and used as fuel. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases generated by burning fossil fuels are considered to be one of the principal causes of global warming.

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.

BHP has significantly divested from thermal coal in recent years, but still has a stake in Australian mines digging up the fossil fuel for steelmaking.

From Barron's • May 28, 2026

Nguyen Minh Dong, a former Volkswagen emissions engineer who now advises on electrification, called the rush to ban fossil fuel bikes in Hanoi "puzzling".

From Barron's • May 19, 2026

This creates a dilemma for countries rethinking their reliance on fossil fuel, following the second energy crisis in four years.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026

According to the Sierra Club, more than 85% of renewable energy sources now cost less than fossil fuel sources.

From Salon • May 16, 2026

On the industrial farm, it takes about ten calories of fossil fuel energy to produce one calorie of food energy.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

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