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mineral oil
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noun
a colorless, oily, almost tasteless, water-insoluble liquid, usually of either a standard light density (light mineral oil ) or a standard heavy density (heavy mineral oil ), consisting of mixtures of hydrocarbons obtained from petroleum by distillation: used chiefly as a lubricant, in the manufacture of cosmetics, and in medicine as a laxative.
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QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Also called liquid petrolatum.
Origin of mineral oil
First recorded in 1795–1805
Words nearby mineral oil
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use mineral oil in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for mineral oil
mineral oil
noun
British any oil of mineral origin, esp petroleum
US and Canadian a colourless almost tasteless oily liquid obtained by petroleum distillation and used as a laxativeAlso called (in Britain and certain other countries): liquid paraffin
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 mineral oil
mineral oil
A colorless, odorless, tasteless oil distilled from petroleum. It is used as a lubricant and, in medicine, as a laxative.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.