fossil fuel

American  

[fos-uhl fyoo-uhl] / ˈfɒs əl ˈfju əl /

noun

Energy.

• fossil fuels
  plural

1. any combustible organic material, as oil, coal, or natural gas, derived from the remains of former life.

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fossil fuel British  

noun

1. any naturally occurring carbon or hydrocarbon fuel, such as coal, petroleum, peat, and natural gas, formed by the decomposition of prehistoric organisms

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fossil fuel Scientific  

1. A hydrocarbon fuel, such as petroleum, coal, or natural gas, derived from the accumulated remains of ancient plants and animals and used as fuel. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases generated by burning fossil fuels are considered to be one of the principal causes of global warming.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• fossil fuels
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fossil fuel

Oil spills are likely to increase as fossil fuel use tapers, and oil companies put off upgrades to aging infrastructure, experts say.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

Once again, the fossil fuel industry led the way.

From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026

After years of decline, new announced fossil fuel capacity for the grid hit a low in 2022, rebounding the following year as the AI boom took hold.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

"If we dramatically cut CO2 emissions from fossil fuel burning, or reduce deforestation, the projected increase would be lower," Melillo explains.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026

But the system only works as long as fossil fuel energy is cheap.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan