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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.

As part of that effort, teapots were prevented from importing crude oil directly, which limited their ability to compete against the state-owned refining giants.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 2, 2026

The two sides remain far apart, The Wall Street Journal reported, but investors nonetheless took it as an encouraging sign, sending Brent crude oil futures down 2% to $108.17 a barrel.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

Benchmark crude oil prices were at about $116 per barrel early Thursday, up from about $70 before fighting in Iran began.

From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026

Africa's exports to China are dominated by minerals and raw materials, such as crude oil and metallic ores.

From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026

A gasket blows five thousand feet underwater beneath an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana, sending millions of barrels of crude oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

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.