bowser
Americannoun
noun
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a tanker containing fuel for aircraft, military vehicles, etc
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obsolete a petrol pump
Etymology
Origin of bowser
1930–35; said to be after S.F. Bowser and Co., a Sydney manufacturer of gasoline and oil storage systems
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.
As households feel the pinch from rising prices at the bowser, Chalmers said the government would offer 13 million workers a new Aus$250 payment each year.
From Barron's • May 12, 2026
Cardigan Town Council also supplied a water bowser for affected residents to collect water to use to flush their toilets.
From BBC • Dec. 20, 2022
Vehicles queue for diesel and petrol as they wait for a bowser since yesterday, amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 23, 2022.
From Reuters • Jun. 26, 2022
After Red Bull failed to fuel his car correctly during qualifying due to a fault with the bowser, Webber started from the pit lane rather than the back of the grid.
From The Guardian • Apr. 14, 2013
I drank from a previously unopened water bowser and wolfed several nutratabs.
From Attrition by Krenkel, Roy G.
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.
