grease
[noun grees; verb grees, greez]
- 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.
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- 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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- grease someone's palm. palm1(def 19).
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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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for grease
Contemporary Examples
But at least Obama does seem to genuinely loathe the sucking up required to grease the wheels.
No longer swimming in the dough, means less money for the adult industry to grease the partnership wheels.
The owners can grease a lot of palms with revenues like that.
Their blue jumpsuits are stained with grease, and their hair is expertly wrapped in scarves to keep it out of their way.
Donald Sterling banned for life from the NBA, explosions in Syria kill dozens, 'Grease' on live TV, and more stories from today.
Historical Examples
He was blacker than I was; all smeared with grease and stripped to his waist.
The UnderdogF. Hopkinson Smith
With pitch, gum, or grease, they covered up the cracks or seams.
Welsh Fairy TalesWilliam Elliott Griffis
When they are cooked pour off the sauce, skim off the grease and reduce it.
The Cook's Decameron: A Study in Taste:Mrs. W. G. Waters
Opening the wagon box he drew out a jack and a tin of grease.
The Law-BreakersRidgwell Cullum
Grease or resin in the water used for washing, is also unfavorable.
Hittel on Gold Mines and MiningJohn S. Hittell
grease
- 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
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- 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
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Word Origin
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
Word Origin and History for grease
n.
c.1300, from Anglo-French grece, from Old French gresse, craisse "grease, fat" (Modern French graisse), from Vulgar Latin *crassia "(melted) animal fat, grease," from Latin crassus "thick, solid, fat" (cf. Spanish grasa, Italian grassa). Grease paint, used by actors, attested from 1888. Grease monkey "mechanic" is from 1928.
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v.
c.1300, from grease (n.). Sense of "ply with bribe or protection money" is 1520s, from notion of grease the wheels "make things run smoothly" (mid-15c.). To grease (someone's) palm is from 1580s. Expression greased lightning, representing something that goes very fast, is American English, by 1832.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.