diesel
adjective
noting a machine or vehicle powered by a diesel engine.
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diesel
1 American
[dee-zuhl, -suhl]
/ ˈdi zəl, -səl /
Or
Diesel
adjective
-
noting a machine or vehicle powered by a diesel engine.
diesel locomotive.
-
of or relating to a diesel engine.
diesel fuel.
Diesel
2
American
[dee-zuhl, -suhl]
/ ˈdi zəl, -səl /
noun
diesel
1
British
/ ˈdiːzəl /
noun
-
See diesel engine
-
a ship, locomotive, lorry, etc, driven by a diesel engine
-
informal short for diesel oil
-
slang any cola drink
spook and diesel
-
See suck
Diesel
2
British
/ ˈdiːzəl /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of diesel
After R. Diesel, the engine's inventor
Explanation
A diesel is a type of engine that produces enough heat to burn fuel and power a vehicle. Most diesels run on very thick, heavy oil. Large trucks use diesels — also known as diesel engines — and so do some cars, trains, and ships. The earliest diesel was developed in the late 19th century, and its invention is credited to the German engineer Rudolph Diesel, although other inventors laid the groundwork with their development of a very similar type of engine.
Vocabulary lists containing diesel
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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:
Volkswagen is the country's number-one carmaker for petrol and diesel vehicles.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
This week, its second stage is in force, restricting the use of diesel generators and burning of coal and firewood.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
The 2Q miss was tied to weaker provisional pricing, and higher diesel and freight costs, UBS says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
The price of a gallon of diesel - which was $3.75 before the war started in February - hit a record high of $6.52 in September.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
He was relieved; the other scents of the encampment—smoke, diesel, scorched metal, and a strange, dark electrical odor—were things he would have herded Peter away from.
From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker
Diesel is a crucial input to manufacturing, agriculture and transportation, though its direct impact on consumers is obscure compared with the effect of auto fuel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
Diesel, at $6.32 a gallon, is only 20 cents below the record reached in September.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
Diesel prices have soared even more, by 67.7 percent, boosting the cost of transporting goods and threatening further spillovers to consumers.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
Diesel is the primary fuel of the global supply chain, and its impact on consumers can fall under the radar, even as producers see an immediate hit when prices surge.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
“You are entertaining. So Bulgu will give you two choices,” the monster says in that voice that would make Vin Diesel jealous.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Replacing the 200,000 buses with another round of health-hazardous diesels would cost between $60 billion to $80 billion; after accounting for rollout costs, full electric replacement would cost about 2.5 times as much.
From Salon ● May 23, 2024
Had they been conventional diesels, they would have created a smelly cacophony as they idled.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 26, 2022
Non-profit RMI said the IRA's up to $40,000 Qualified Commercial Clean Vehicle tax credit "will turbocharge adoption of electric medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks." and will electric trucks cheaper to operate than diesels in most cases.
From Reuters ● Sep. 21, 2022
Rather, the agency says there are pollution control devices in development that can keep diesels in use and still clean the air.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2022
“She’s forty-six feet. Twin diesels, eight hundred horses.”
From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen
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