greasy

[ gree-see, ‑zee ]

adjective

, greas·i·er, greas·i·est.

1. smeared, covered, or soiled with grease.
2. composed of or containing grease; oily:

   greasy food.

3. greaselike in appearance or to the touch; slippery.
4. insinuatingly unctuous in manner; repulsively slick; oily.
5. Veterinary Pathology. affected with grease.

greasy

/ -sɪ; ˈɡriːzɪ /

adjective

1. coated or soiled with or as if with grease
2. composed of or full of grease
3. resembling grease
4. unctuous or oily in manner

noun

1. a shearer
2. an outback cook, esp cooking for a number of men

Pronunciation Note

greasy is almost always pronounced as [gree, -zee], with a medial [z], in the South Midland and Southern U.S. and as [gree, -see], with a medial [s], in New England, New York State, and the Great Lakes Basin. Speakers of New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania are divided, with some using [s] and some using [z]. Standard British English reflects both [z] and [s] pronunciations and British folk speech is also divided regionally, with [z] heard in the eastern counties and [s] in the central and western ones. Both pronunciations were brought to the colonies, where the present U.S. pattern emerged.

Derived Forms

• ˈgreasiness, noun
• ˈgreasily, adverb

Other Words From

• greasi·ly adverb
• greasi·ness noun
• non·greasy adjective
• over·greasi·ness noun
• over·greasy adjective
• un·greasy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of greasy¹

First recorded in 1505–15

Example Sentences

Buy on Amazon, $nullAside from being downright effective, perhaps the best part of this spray is that it doesn’t feel greasy when applied, and it smells like a candle I might find in the bathroom of a fancy hotel.

From The Daily Beast

When the weather warms, these organisms quickly take over, giving the lake a greasy look and a foul smell.

From MIT Technology Review

Before you wash your bike, look for greasy dirt at the slider seals or bottom of the fork legs, an indication that your suspension is leaking oil.

From Outside Online

An accident at the refinery coated his roof and plants with greasy oil.

From Washington Post

If your hair has been more greasy than usual this year, it’s worth looking into.

From Fortune

It was full of the sorts of people I used to be when I watched him on MuchMusic—bored, greasy-fingered teenagers.

From The Daily Beast

Anyone telling you differently will just leave you with a greasy mouth.

From The Daily Beast

She tells Tim Teeman about celebrity, fighting sexism, and where she goes for a greasy burger.

From The Daily Beast

Like a Route 66 roadside greasy spoon, Burger Joint always hits the spot.

From The Daily Beast

“Ah, the greasy grind of the press—the scribblers and scratchers, the slingers and spillers,” Morrissey writes.

From The Daily Beast

Ill wager that greasy foreigner has got a wife and ten childrenand neglects them.

From Project Gutenberg

The greasy surface, dotted here and there with specks of vegetable, resembles a pool of stagnant water covered with green slime.

From Project Gutenberg

The tin glides over the greasy surface, noiselessly, smoothly, till the thick layer of filth is worn off.

From Project Gutenberg

His hair was long and tangled and greasy, and hung down, and you could see his eyes shining through like he was behind vines.

From Project Gutenberg

Then the Factor cleaned a greasy hand upon his beard, and stretched himself with a sigh of satisfaction.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• creamy
• fatty
• slick