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oil
[ oil ]
/ ɔɪl /
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noun
verb (used with object)
adjective
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Idioms about 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.
pour oil on troubled waters, to attempt to calm a difficult or tense situation, as an argument.
strike oil,
Origin of oil
OTHER WORDS FROM oil
Words nearby oil
OIC, -oid, -oidea, oidium, oik, oil, Oil and water don't mix, oil beetle, oilbird, oil burner, oil cake
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use oil in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for oil
oil
/ (ɔɪl) /
noun
verb (tr)
Derived forms of oil
oil-like, adjectiveWord 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
Scientific definitions for oil
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other 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).
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.