grease

[ noun grees; verb grees, greez ]

/ noun gris; verb gris, griz /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR grease ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the melted or rendered fat of animals, especially when in a soft state.

fatty or oily matter in general; lubricant.

Also called grease wool . wool, as shorn, before being cleansed of the oily matter.

Also called grease-heel

[grees-heel]. /ˈgrisˌhil/. Veterinary Pathology. inflammation of a horse's skin in the fetlock region, attended with an oily secretion.

Informal. a bribe.

verb (used with object), greased, greasing.

to put grease on; lubricate: to grease the axle of a car.

to smear or cover with grease.

to cause to occur easily; smooth the way; facilitate.

Informal. to bribe.

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having or claiming to have the power of seeing objects or actions beyond the range of natural vision.

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Idioms for grease

grease someone's palm. palm¹ (def. 19).

Origin of grease

1250–1300; Middle English grese, grece, greice<Anglo-French grece, gresse,Old French craisse (French graisse) <Vulgar Latin *crassia, equivalent to Latin crass(us) fat, thick + -ia noun suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM grease

greaseless, adjectivegrease·less·ness, noungreaseproof, adjectivere·grease, verb (used with object), re·greased, re·greas·ing.

un·greased, adjectivewell-greased, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH grease

grease , Greece

Words nearby grease

grazing, grazioso, GRB, Gr. Br., GRE, grease, greaseball, grease cup, grease gun, grease monkey, grease nipple

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for grease

Some of my teammates sat in the nearby parking lot running their bike chains through rags to clean the grease.
How Biking Across America Formed an Unlikely Friendship|Raffi Joe Wartanian|October 8, 2020|Outside Online
Levels of ammonia, oils and greases, phosphorus, nitrates, coliform bacteria and several substances associated with the presence of wastewater exceeded limits set in both countries.
Border Report: New State Law Requires an Action Plan for the Tijuana River|Maya Srikrishnan|October 5, 2020|Voice of San Diego
When the pot has cooled, wipe out any remaining grease with a paper towel and burn that.
A Family-Friendly Camp Meal That Everyone Can Help With|Wes Siler|October 1, 2020|Outside Online
Again, this step requires a lot of elbow grease, so bear that in mind.
Testimonial link building: Using real experiences for success|Rameez Ghayas Usmani|July 15, 2020|Search Engine Watch

Those individuals the doctors could not attend to dressed their wounds with generous amounts of vaseline and axle grease smeared onto their limbs.
Fire on the Bay: 115 Years Ago This Month, a Deadly Explosion Rocked a Navy Ship|Randy Dotinga|July 14, 2020|Voice of San Diego
But at least Obama does seem to genuinely loathe the sucking up required to grease the wheels.
Is Big Money Politics an Overblown Evil?|David Freedlander|August 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
No longer swimming in the dough, means less money for the adult industry to grease the partnership wheels.
Too Hot for Google: Why The Internet Giant Is Scared of Porn|Aurora Snow|July 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The owners can grease a lot of palms with revenues like that.
Al-Sisi’s Egypt Is Worse For Gays Than The Muslim Brotherhood|Bel Trew|June 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Their blue jumpsuits are stained with grease, and their hair is expertly wrapped in scarves to keep it out of their way.
Victims No More: Congo’s Badass Women Mechanics|Nina Strochlic|June 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Donald Sterling banned for life from the NBA, explosions in Syria kill dozens, 'Grease' on live TV, and more stories from today.
Today in :45 - April 29, 2014|Alex Chancey, Ben Teitelbaum|April 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Great care is used in cleaning substances to be plated, all dirt and grease being carefully removed.
Things a Boy Should Know About Electricity|Thomas M. (Thomas Matthew) St. John
The grease of the fox and the marrow are good for the hardening of sinews.
The Master of Game|Second Duke of York, Edward
The sunburnt face, puckered with a wry wistfulness, was only comic in its incongruous coat of grease.
No Hero|E.W. Hornung
The ordinary behaviour is evidently the result of a film of grease, which adheres with great obstinacy.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 3|Various
A shirt was provided for me, painted with vermilion, mixed with grease.
The American Indians|Henry R. Schoolcraft

British Dictionary definitions for grease

grease

noun (ɡriːs, ɡriːz)

animal fat in a soft or melted condition

any thick fatty oil, esp one used as a lubricant for machinery, etc

Also called: grease wool shorn fleece before it has been cleaned

Also called: seborrhoea vet science inflammation of the skin of horses around the fetlocks, usually covered with an oily secretion

verb (ɡriːz, ɡriːs) (tr)

to soil, coat, or lubricate with grease

to ease the course ofhis education greased his path to success

grease the palm of or grease the hand of slang to bribe; influence by giving money to

Derived forms of grease

greaseless, adjective

Word Origin for grease

C13: from Old French craisse, from Latin crassus thick

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

Idioms and Phrases with grease

grease

In addition to the idioms beginning with grease

grease someone's palm
grease the wheels

also see:

elbow grease
like greased lightning
squeaky wheel gets the grease

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WORD OF THE DAY

grease

noun

verb (used with object), greased, greasing.