fuel oil

American

noun

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

fuel oil British

noun

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This week the island's energy minister acknowledged that Cuba has, in essence, run out of fuel oil.

From BBC • May 16, 2026

The average price of very low-sulfur fuel oil has risen 70% to $925 per metric ton at the world’s top ports since the war started.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

Gasoline prices surged 18.9% from a year earlier and fuel oil surged by 44.2%.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

The increased price of fuel oil and gasoline experienced the highest increases, accounting for over 30 and 21 percent jumps respectively between February and March.

From Salon • Apr. 10, 2026

When the Soviet Union stopped supplying cheap fuel oil in the early 1990s, city-based, oil-powered generators sputtered to a halt.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023