oil

[ oil ]

/ ɔɪl /

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.

Nearby words

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 forms

oil·less, adjectiveoil·less·ness, nounoil·like, adjectivere·oil, verb

self-oil·ing, adjectiveun·oil·ing, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

Russia depends on oil exports for almost 70 percent of its foreign-currency earnings and almost 50 percent of its annual budget.
How Crimea Crashed the Russian Economy|Anna Nemtsova|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There should be a good opening for machinery for extracting the oil.
Notes on Agriculture in Cyprus and Its Products|William Bevan
What remains of turpentine after the oil has been distilled.
Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II|Arnold Cooley
You can—this heap has got the legs of a centipede and you've got plenty of gas and oil.
Triplanetary|Edward Elmer Smith
He then treated the second bird in the same manner, and assisted his lady-love to consume it, as well as the remainder of the oil.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
Be kind enough to add to the tunic, gilt sandals, and a vial of oil to anoint my beard and hair.
Thais|Anatole France

British Dictionary definitions for oil

oil

/ (ɔɪl) /

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 oil any 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
informal to 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 (1 of 2)

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.

Word Origin and History for oil (1 of 2)

oil

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

Medicine definitions for oil

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.

Science 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.

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).

oil

noun

verb (used with object)

adjective

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of oil

Examples from the Web for oil

British Dictionary definitions for oil

oil

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for oil

Word Origin and History for oil (1 of 2)

oil

Word Origin and History for oil (1 of 2)

oil

Medicine definitions for oil

oil

n.

Science definitions for oil

oil

Idioms and Phrases with oil

oil