fuel
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.
to supply with fuel.
to obtain or replenish fuel.
Origin of fuel
1Other words for fuel
Other words from fuel
- fu·el·er; (especially British) fu·el·ler, noun
- de·fu·el, verb (used with object), de·fu·eled, de·fu·el·ing or (especially British) de·fu·elled, de·fu·el·ling.
- non·fu·el, adjective
- un·fu·eled; (especially British) un·fu·elled, adjective
- well-fueled; (especially British) well-fuelled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use fuel in a sentence
You have to acknowledge your age and position in life, for me quite a lot of those emotionally fueled songs were hormone songs.
And black fury toward cops today is fueled by historic economic disparities and by the economic disaster of the past decade plus.
One of the most persistent myths in American politics is the media-fueled concept of the lame duck.
The Liberation of the Lame Duck: Obama Goes Full Bulworth | John Avlon | December 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTNow the gut was fueled not by Romanée-Conti and Château d'Yquem but by brandy--and a hell of a lot of it.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days | David Freeman | December 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSuch was the corrosive paranoia of the time, fueled by McCarthy and abetted by Hoover.
All of them were fueled with liquid HNO3, which makes a pretty good fuel in an atmosphere that is predominantly methane.
Unwise Child | Gordon Randall Garrett"As soon as we have re-fueled, sir," replied the Senior American Officer; and that remained the keynote of all their activities.
The Heroic Record of the British Navy | Archibald HurdWhen Willie appeared, prompt to the moment, he found his plane oiled, fueled and ready for flight.
Gypsy Flight | Roy J. SnellThe fires were plentifully fueled with dry branches and stalks.
Spacewrecked on Venus | Neil R. JonesThe field men had the rocket fueled up and provisioned to go.
The Black Tide | Arthur G. Stangland
British Dictionary definitions for fuel
/ (fjʊəl) /
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
to supply with or receive fuel
Origin of fuel
1Derived forms of fuel
- fueller or US fueler, noun
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
Scientific definitions for fuel
[ fyōō′əl ]
A substance that produces useful energy when it undergoes a chemical or nuclear reaction. Fuel such as coal, wood, oil, or gas provides energy when burned. Compounds in the body such as glucose are broken down into simpler compounds to provide energy for metabolic processes. Some radioactive substances, such as plutonium and tritium, provide energy by undergoing nuclear fission or fusion.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with fuel
see add fuel to the fire.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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