diesel
or Die·sel
[dee-zuh l, -suh l]
- noting a machine or vehicle powered by a diesel engine: diesel locomotive.
- of or relating to a diesel engine: diesel fuel.
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- diesel engine.
- a vehicle powered by a diesel engine.
- diesel fuel.
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Origin of diesel
after R. Diesel, the engine's inventor
Diesel
[dee-zuh l, -suh l]
- Ru·dolf [roo-dolf, -dawlf; German roo-dawlf] /ˈru dɒlf, -dɔlf; German ˈru dɔlf/, 1858–1913, German automotive engineer.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
cylindergeneratortransformerturbinedieselenginetoolapplianceinstrumentmotorweaponmechanismpistonapparatusmeanspotfancontrivanceagentdynamoExamples from the Web for diesel
Contemporary Examples
The smells of roasting maize, diesel fumes, and floral soap from the streets of Harare are still seared into my brain.
ISTANBUL, Turkey — The lifeblood of the death-dealing Islamic State is diesel fuel.
I became numb to the barrage of smells: citrus disinfectants, burning trash, sewage, sweat, and diesel.
Increasing numbers of private cars in the UK now run on diesel as well.
In between karaoke bits and feverish dance breaks, Diesel delivers a few heartfelt monologues to the camera.
Historical Examples
They called to us with their allurement, but the Diesel motor knew no pity.
The South Pole, Volumes 1 and 2Roald Amundsen
By 1972, about 80 percent of the freight and a larger proportion of passenger traffic were carried on diesel or electric trains.
Area Handbook for BulgariaEugene K. Keefe, Violeta D. Baluyut, William Giloane, Anne K. Long, James M. Moore, and Neda A. Walpole
I knelt on the deck and listened to the thrum of the diesel engines.
Little BrotherCory Doctorow
The Diesel, installed on the Stinson-Detroiter, it was said, now has had 200 hr.
The oil filters of the Packard diesel could not be cleaned in flight.
diesel
- See diesel engine
- a ship, locomotive, lorry, etc, driven by a diesel engine
- informal short for diesel oil
- Southern African slang any cola drinkspook and diesel
- sucking diesel See suck (def. 10)
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Diesel
- Rudolf (ˈruːdɔlf). 1858–1913, German engineer, who invented the diesel engine (1892)
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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
Word Origin and History for diesel
adj.
1894, named for Rudolf Diesel (1858-1913), German mechanical engineer who designed this type of engine.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper