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degrease

American  
[dee-grees, -greez] / diˈgris, -ˈgriz /

verb (used with object)

degreased, degreasing
  1. to remove grease, oil, or the like, from, especially by treating with a chemical.


degrease British  
/ diːˈɡriːs /

verb

  1. (tr) to remove grease from

"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

Other Word Forms


Etymology

Origin of degrease

First recorded in 1885–90; de- + grease


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:

Need to do a full degrease of the oven?

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 25, 2023

When the bacon is finished, degrease if necessary and place it to the side.

From Salon ● Mar. 3, 2023

They will never, ever degrease those tire rims!

From The New Yorker ● Dec. 10, 2018

So he started experimenting with different ways to degrease the fish using Dawn soap, baking soda, and other chemicals.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 3, 2015

To clean and degrease a bird skin which requires such treatment to prepare for mounting, wash it first in lukewarm ammonia water with mild soap.

From Taxidermy by Leon Luther Pray

It was largely connected with workplace exposure, including a woman who worked with the chemical while cleaning houses and factory workers who degreased and cleaned metal parts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2023

Among those customers, few seemed to welcome the idea of a degreased and sanitized replica of The World Famous Billy Goat.

From Chicago Tribune ● Nov. 13, 2013

Water trickled into the kitchen sink, as Sookie degreased the necklace.

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen

Reserve degreased pan juices to add to gravy with broth.

From The Perdue Chicken Cookbook by Mitzi Perdue

Instead of extracting all the gelatinous matter from degreased bones, the practice of extracting about one half and carbonizing the residue is frequently adopted.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 2 "Bohemia" to "Borgia, Francis" by Various

Other government-funded research has established a link between autism and another solvent, trichloroethylene, also known as TCE, which has been used for dry cleaning, manufacturing and degreasing machines.

From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2025

Together, they focused on an attractive target, the commonly used degreasing and dry-cleaning agent perc, or perchloroethylene as chemists call it, which is non-harmful and produced in large quantities around the world.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 10, 2024

They reported that the solvent trichloroethylene, a mitochondrial toxin used in dry-cleaning and degreasing metal, ramped up LRRK2 enzyme activity and induced Parkinson-like pathology in the brains of older rats.

From Science Magazine ● May 4, 2023

The Irish came to the rescue, paying for a radical cleaning and degreasing of the tomb and restoring a Plexiglas shield around the tomb.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2019

The individual exposed to DDT, for example, is almost certain to be exposed to other liver-damaging hydrocarbons, which are so widely used as solvents, paint removers, degreasing agents, dry-cleaning fluids, and anesthetics.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

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