oil patch
Americannoun
-
an area in which oil is produced.
-
the petroleum industry.
Etymology
Origin of oil patch
First recorded in 1960–65
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
So investors looking for winners in this tough stock market don’t have to limit themselves to the oil patch.
From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026
Private-equity firms focused on the oil patch raised substantial capital during most of the 2010s, bolstered by investor enthusiasm over shale development.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 2026
As Canada looks to untangle itself economically from the US, the country's landlocked oil patch is eyeing new customers in Asia through a pipeline to the Pacific.
From BBC • Nov. 16, 2025
Kern County, home to the state’s largest oil patch, has long been friendly to energy companies.
From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2024
He came to realize that any business in the oil patch was an enormous gamble, even when prices were sky high, and he really wasn’t much of a gambler.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
