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fuel oil

American  

noun

  1. an oil used for fuel, especially one used as a substitute for coal, as crude petroleum.


fuel oil British  

noun

  1. a liquid petroleum product having a flash point above 37.8°C: used as a substitute for coal in industrial furnaces, domestic heaters, ships, and locomotives

"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

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

As the summer draws to a close, families who rely on fuel oil to heat their homes are facing a dilemma.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

The US has also sanctioned the ship's owner, Arihant Shipping Inc, and has accused the ship of transporting "hundreds of thousands of barrels of Iranian fuel oil and bitumen within the Gulf since July 2025".

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026

The government says it has run out of diesel and fuel oil needed to power the generators that supplement the electricity production of its dilapidated power plants.

From Barron's ● May 18, 2026

The visit comes a day after Cuba’s government said the country had run out of fuel oil and diesel needed to keep the lights on.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026

Since 1945 this particular coastal area has been subjected to repeated sprayings with DDT dissolved in fuel oil.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

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