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Synonyms

crude oil

American  

noun

  1. petroleum as it comes from the ground, before refining.

crude oil British  

noun

  1. petroleum before it has been refined

"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
crude oil Scientific  
/ kro̅o̅d /

  1. Unrefined petroleum.

Etymology

Origin of crude oil

First recorded in 1860–65

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.

If the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for one-fifth of the world’s supply of crude oil, is officially reopened?

From MarketWatch • May 7, 2026

“The evidence ... supports the common belief that retail gasoline prices respond more quickly to increases in crude oil prices than to decreases,” Borenstein and his colleagues wrote in 1997.

From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026

Front-month WTI crude oil futures are 1.2% higher at $96.18 per barrel; front-month Brent crude oil futures are 0.9% higher at $102.19 a barrel.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

But it noted other headwinds, not least a weakness in crude oil triggering a broader selloff in the commodity sector, and mortgage rates at a four-week high.

From MarketWatch • May 7, 2026

The U.S. customs office was kept busy inspecting oil tankers from the Middle East which supplied crude oil to the refinery at Hess Oil.

From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos

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.