oil spill

American

noun

an accidental release of oil into a body of water, as from a tanker, offshore drilling rig, or underwater pipeline, often presenting a hazard to marine life and the environment.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

oil spills

plural

Etymology

Origin of oil spill

First recorded in 1965–70

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.

See Examples For:

oil spill

A major recovery effort is continuing after an oil spill caused by the vandalism of a nearby home heating oil tank resulted in the death of 13 birds from Broughshane Waterfowl Park.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

The group said the oil refinery, which is expected to take about 30 months to build, will lead to "habitat destruction, marine degradation, oil spill risk and dangerous air pollution".

From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026

Such oversight can include ensuring that companies have oil spill plans in place, or that they perform restoration efforts after development.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026

The ships carrying sanctioned oil are using systems that bad actors could use to cause an explosion or oil spill.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026

A giant oil spill off Santa Barbara blackened California’s coastline.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023