mineral oil
- 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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Origin of mineral oil
First recorded in 1795–1805
Also called liquid petrolatum.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for mineral oil
Historical Examples
Mineral-oil lamps introduced the danger of explosions of the vapors produced by evaporation.
Artificial LightM. Luckiesh
mineral oil
- 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
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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
mineral oil
- Any of various light hydrocarbon oils, especially a distillate of petroleum.
- A refined distillate of petroleum, used as a laxative.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
mineral oil
- A colorless, odorless, tasteless oil distilled from petroleum. It is used as a lubricant and, in medicine, as a laxative.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.