fuel
Americannoun
-
fuels
plural
-
combustible matter used to maintain fire, as coal, wood, oil, or gas, in order to create heat or power.
-
something that gives nourishment; food.
-
an energy source for engines, power plants, or reactors.
Kerosene is used as jet engine fuel.
-
something that sustains or encourages; stimulant.
Our discussion provided him with fuel for debate.
- Synonyms:
- stimulus, impetus, sustenance, ammunition
verb (used with object)
-
fuels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fueled,
past participle, past
-
fuelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
fueling,
present participle
-
fuelling
present participle (especially British)
verb (used without object)
-
fuels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fueled,
past participle, past
-
fuelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
fueling,
present participle
-
fuelling
present participle (especially British)
noun
-
any substance burned as a source of heat or power, such as coal or petrol
-
-
the material, containing a fissile substance, such as uranium-235, that produces energy in a nuclear reactor
-
a substance that releases energy in a fusion reactor
-
-
something that nourishes or builds up emotion, action, etc
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
fuelernoun
-
fuellernoun
-
defuelverb (used with object)
-
nonfueladjective
-
unfueledadjective
-
well-fueledadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
fuelsimple
-
fuelssimple
-
have fueledperfect
-
have fuelledperfect
-
has fueledperfect
-
has fuelledperfect
-
am fuelingprogressive
-
am fuellingprogressive
-
are fuelingprogressive
-
are fuellingprogressive
-
is fuelingprogressive
-
is fuellingprogressive
-
have been fuelingperfect progressive
-
have been fuellingperfect progressive
-
has been fuelingperfect progressive
-
has been fuellingperfect progressive
Past
-
fueledsimple
-
fuelledsimple
-
had fueledperfect
-
had fuelledperfect
-
was fuelingprogressive
-
was fuellingprogressive
-
were fuelingprogressive
-
were fuellingprogressive
-
had been fuelingperfect progressive
-
had been fuellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fuel
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English feuel, fuel(le), from Old French feuaile, from Vulgar Latin focālia (unrecorded), neuter plural of focālis (unrecorded) “of the hearth, fuel,” from Latin focus “hearth” ( see focus) + -ālis -al 1
Explanation
What do you and your car have in common? You both run on fuel. Whether its gasoline or nutritious food, fuel produces energy to get up and go. Fuel can also act as a verb that has several different meanings, all related to stimulating something or providing energy. Your brother might fuel up on whole-wheat bread with peanut butter a few hours before a big game. A teacher assigns readings to fuel meaningful class discussion. Memories of your mom's delicious dinners might fuel your desire to learn to cook.
Vocabulary lists containing fuel
Word Generation Science - Energy
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Engineering - Introductory
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Chemical Reactions - Introductory
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Freight rates were boosted by higher spot rates and volatility in fuel prices, with management expecting higher demand to bring market growth, they add.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Once again, the fossil fuel industry led the way.
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026
Basin, the drivers meet up and fuel up at Pinyon Ojai, a pizza restaurant on Ojai Avenue.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
He expects a similar capital cycle to fuel a resurgence for Builders FirstSource.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
The uranium pellets that form nuclear fuel rods are held together by a thin coating, called cladding, of the metal zirconium.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
We see how growing up in a war zone and taking on the responsibility of his family’s future shaped him and how he fuels his drive with anger and resentment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Musk built much of his fortune on technologies designed to replace fossil fuels: electric vehicles, batteries and solar cells.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
The companies said they would move fuels from refineries in Texas, Oklahoma and near St. Louis,
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Western Europe experienced its hottest June-July on record as climate change fuels an historic summer of heat, drought and wildfires across the region, the EU's global warming monitor said Monday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
But trap too much, which humans were doing by burning fossil fuels, and everything started to overheat.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
Chip stocks are closing back in on a bull market, fueled by optimism around recent corporate earnings.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
CoreWeave’s rapid sales growth is fueled by a growing backlog, now up to $130 billion from $99 billion at the end of March.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Animal Services, said much of the increase was fueled by an influx of kittens into the system.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
The memory chip maker is seeking to ramp up output to meet growing demand fueled by the AI boom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Their words were becoming increasingly vile, fueled by whatever was happening directly in front of the school.
From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals
Mali is a former colony of France, and has been gripped by a security crisis fuelled by an Islamist insurgency since 2012.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
That selloff was fuelled by fears over the returns on vast sums invested in projects around the world, as well as traders being forced to liquidate bets as prices sank.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
The crisis and years of poor maintenance have fuelled rolling blackouts and shortages of basic goods.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
The UK is facing increasingly extreme conditions such as heatwaves, drought and wildfires fuelled by climate change.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Six hundred broadcasters fuelled the boom, with Chicago’s KYW broadcasting nightly operas from 1921 onwards, and lighter fare outside the opera season.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Economists don’t expect rates to fall soon, with geopolitical conflict as well as spending on the artificial-intelligence build-out fueling inflation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Atlassian, Twilio, JFrog, and Cloudflare surge after earnings, fueling hopes that software investors are rewarding fundamentals again.
From Barron's ● Aug. 8, 2026
U.S. retailers are fueling a longer-than-expected peak shipping season in Southern California, according to the leader of America’s busiest gateway for container imports, the WSJ Logistics Report’s Paul Berger writes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Artificial intelligence seems to be popping up everywhere, fueling the advancement of hardware beyond the smartphone but also debate about its use.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
I’d been looking forward to introducing her to Miles—I had a feeling he wouldn’t mind fueling her Word of the Week a thousand times over.
From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia
It comes as the group sees its server solutions optimized for artificial intelligence fuelling future revenue as the build-out of data centers accelerates.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
Hotter seas can have damaging knock-on effects on the planet, fuelling stronger storms and rainfall and bleaching coral reefs.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
Washington's move came as the yen rebounded sharply last week, fuelling speculation that Japanese authorities had also intervened in currency markets.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
While the Italian city's famous old club were effectively declared bankrupt this week, a footballing passion forged at Stadio Mario Rigamonti may be fuelling Tottenham Hotspur's revival.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
This matter of fuelling steamers is a serious one at such distances from the coal-mines; it costs the Peninsular Company some eight hundred thousand pounds a year.
From Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
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.
