oil shale

American  

noun

Geology.

1. a black or dark-brown shale or siltstone rich in bitumens, from which shale oil is obtained by destructive distillation.

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oil shale British  

noun

1. a fine-grained shale containing oil, which can be extracted by heating

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oil shale Scientific  

1. A fine-grained black or dark brown shale containing hydrocarbons in the form of kerogen. When heated, oil shale yields petroleum or natural gas.

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Etymology

Origin of oil shale

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

oil shale

Experts eventually discovered an underground fire fuelled by oil shale which had been used in the building of a long-gone railway line 120 years ago.

From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2026

"That's why we are working on trying to attract more investments to Ida-Virumaa so that they can have different jobs there, not just oil shale industry," she said.

From Reuters ● Mar. 2, 2023

This black goo is derived from oil shale rich in sulfur.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 29, 2022

The Carter administration tried a slew of policies to promote conservation and lift production of various sources of energy, some clean, some dirty, from solar power to oil shale and liquid fuels made of coal.

From New York Times ● Feb. 25, 2022

Among these are gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, mica, corundum, graphite, manganese, kaolin, mill-stone grits, marble, barytes, oil shale, buhrstones, roofing slate, etc.

From School History of North Carolina : from 1584 to the present time by Moore, John W. (John Wheeler)