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Showing results for diesel. Search instead for dieses'.
Synonyms

diesel

1 American  
[dee-zuhl, -suhl] / ˈdi zəl, -səl /
Or Diesel

adjective

  1. noting a machine or vehicle powered by a diesel engine.

    diesel locomotive.

  2. of or relating to a diesel engine.

    diesel fuel.

noun

  1. diesel engine.

  2. a vehicle powered by a diesel engine.

  3. diesel fuel.

Diesel 2 American  
[dee-zuhl, -suhl] / ˈdi zəl, -səl /

noun

  1. Rudolf 1858–1913, German automotive engineer.

diesel 1 British  
/ ˈdiːzəl /

noun

  1. See diesel engine

  2. a ship, locomotive, lorry, etc, driven by a diesel engine

  3. informal short for diesel oil

  4. slang any cola drink

    spook and diesel

  5. See suck

"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
Diesel 2 British  
/ ˈdiːzəl /

noun

  1. Rudolf (ˈruːdɔlf). 1858–1913, German engineer, who invented the diesel engine (1892)

"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

Etymology

Origin of diesel

After R. Diesel, the engine's inventor

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.

For Ukraine, the potential scarcity of fuel and surge in prices caused by the war on Iran is a worry: its own frontline troops need large amounts of diesel for their tanks and vehicles.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

Ben Steffen, a farmer in southeast Nebraska, said he was budgeting to pay $4,000 to $5,000 more in diesel than he previously expected this planting season.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Ireland has cut taxes on petrol and diesel, Australia has halved fuel duty for three months and Slovenia has become the first EU member state to introduce fuel rationing.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

Darling is one of a handful of companies turning animal fats, cooking oil, and food waste into diesel, jet fuel, fertilizer, and feedstock.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

He got up and went out to the verandah; the sudden hot air, the roar of his neighbor’s generator, the smell of diesel exhaust fumes brought a lightness to his head.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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.