oil

[oil]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR oil ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any of a large class of substances typically unctuous, viscous, combustible, liquid at ordinary temperatures, and soluble in ether or alcohol but not in water: used for anointing, perfuming, lubricating, illuminating, heating, etc.

a substance of this or similar consistency.

refined or crude petroleum.

Painting.

Informal. unctuous hypocrisy; flattery.

an oilskin garment.

Australian and New Zealand Slang. facts or news; information: good oil.

verb (used with object)

to smear, lubricate, or supply with oil.

to bribe.

to make unctuous or smooth: to oil his words.

to convert into oil by melting, as butter.

adjective

pertaining to or resembling oil.

using oil, especially as a fuel: an oil furnace.

concerned with the production or use of oil: an offshore oil rig.

made with oil.

obtained from oil.

Idioms

pour oil on troubled waters, to attempt to calm a difficult or tense situation, as an argument.

strike oil,

to discover oil, especially to bring in a well.
to have good luck, especially financially; make an important and valuable discovery: They struck oil only after years of market research.

Origin of oil

1125–75; Middle English olie, oile < Old French < Latin oleum, olīvum (olive) oil < *oleivum (cf. Deus) < dialectal Greek *élaiwon (Attic élaion), derivative of *elaíwā olive

Related formsoil·less, adjectiveoil·less·ness, nounoil·like, adjectivere·oil, verbself-oil·ing, adjectiveun·oil·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for oil

coat, grease, anoint, smear, slick, lard, pomade, lube

Examples from the Web for oil

Contemporary Examples of oil

The State Department found that with high oil prices, the tar sands would be mined for oil, pipeline or no.
Fact-Checking the Sunday Shows: Jan. 4
PunditFact.com
January 5, 2015
On top of oil, the United States produces significantly more natural gas than Saudi Arabia.
Fact-Checking the Sunday Shows: Jan. 4
PunditFact.com
January 5, 2015
The EPA felt that the State Department had not looked carefully enough at the impact of the pipeline if oil prices fell.
Fact-Checking the Sunday Shows: Jan. 4
PunditFact.com
January 5, 2015
Officials also had received reports of loud bangs—called in by fishermen—and an oil slick.
Wreckage, Bodies of AirAsia Crash Found
Lennox Samuels
December 30, 2014
What do you get when you cross an oil company with gay rights?
How Canadian Oilmen Pinkwash the Keystone Pipeline
Jay Michaelson
December 28, 2014

Historical Examples of oil

The bucket is perforated at the bottom, and being elevated, the oil drains off.
The Story of the Invention of Steel Pens
Henry Bore
It is this oil that causes bananas to disagree with some persons.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 5
Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
Then would Flossy be ready with her gentle drops of oil to soothe the ruffles.
Ester Ried Yet Speaking
Isabella Alden
Measure the vinegar and oil and add them to the dry ingredients.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 4
Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
She was good, and she had been anointed with the oil of gladness.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart

British Dictionary definitions for oil

oil

noun

any of a number of viscous liquids with a smooth sticky feel. They are usually flammable, insoluble in water, soluble in organic solvents, and are obtained from plants and animals, from mineral deposits, and by synthesis. They are used as lubricants, fuels, perfumes, foodstuffs, and raw materials for chemicalsSee also essential oil, fixed oil

another name for petroleum
(as modifier)an oil engine; an oil rig

Also called: lubricating oilany of a number of substances usually derived from petroleum and used for lubrication
(in combination)an oilcan; an oilstone
(as modifier)an oil pump

Also called: fuel oil a petroleum product used as a fuel in domestic heating, industrial furnaces, marine engines, etc

British

paraffin, esp when used as a domestic fuel
(as modifier)an oil lamp; an oil stove

any substance of a consistency resembling that of oiloil of vitriol

the solvent, usually linseed oil, with which pigments are mixed to make artists' paints

(often plural)oil colour or paint
(as modifier)an oil painting

an oil painting

the good oil or the dinkum oil Australian and NZ slang facts or news

strike oil

to discover petroleum while drilling for it
informalto become very rich or successful

verb (tr)

to lubricate, smear, polish, etc, with oil or an oily substance

informal to bribe (esp in the phrase oil someone's palm)

oil the wheels to make things run smoothly

See well-oiled

Derived Formsoil-like, adjective

Word Origin for oil

C12: from Old French oile, from Latin oleum (olive) oil, from olea olive tree, from Greek elaia olive

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 oil

late 12c., "olive oil," from Anglo-French and Old North French olie, from Old French oile, uile "oil" (12c., Modern French huile), from Latin oleum "oil, olive oil" (source of Spanish, Italian olio), from Greek elaion "olive tree," from elaia (see olive). Old English æle, Dutch olie, German Öl, etc. all are from Latin. It meant "olive oil" exclusively till c.1300, when meaning began to be extended to any fatty, greasy substance. Use for "petroleum" first recorded 1520s, but not common until 19c. The artist's oils (1660s), short for oil-color (1530s), are paints made by grinding pigment in oil.

mid-15c., from oil (n.). Related: Oiled; oiling. An Old English verb in this sense was besmyrian.

oil in Medicine

oil

[oil]

n.

Any of numerous mineral, vegetable, and synthetic substances and animal and vegetable fats that are generally slippery, combustible, viscous, liquid or liquefiable at room temperatures, soluble in various organic solvents such as ether but not in water, and used in a great variety of products, especially lubricants and fuels.

oil in Science

oil

[oil]

Any of a large class of viscous liquids that are typically very slippery and greasy. Oils are composed mostly of glycerides. They are flammable, do not mix with water, and include animal and vegetable fats as well as substances of mineral or synthetic origin. They are used in food, soap, and candles, and make good lubricants and fuels. See essential oil mineral oil petroleum.

Idioms and Phrases with oil

oil

see banana oil; burn the midnight oil; grease (oil) someone's palm; grease (oil) the wheels; pour oil on troubled waters; strike it rich (oil).