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Synonyms

oil well

American  

noun

  1. a well that yields or has yielded oil.

oil well British  

noun

  1. a boring into the earth or sea bed for the extraction of petroleum

"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

Etymology

Origin of oil well

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

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.

Shutting in an oil well risks long-term damage to reservoir pressure and incurs high restart costs, usually making it a measure of last resort.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

In Texas, a sinkhole around a former oil well in McCamey has grown 200 feet wide and 40 feet deep.

From Slate • Oct. 17, 2025

When an oil well comes to the end of its life, its operator has a responsibility to permanently decommission it.

From BBC • Jul. 10, 2025

In one study, he conducted a leak test in steel pipes, comparable to an oil well, with a 185 mm cement plug and a 121 mm bismuth- tin alloy plug.

From Science Daily • Apr. 18, 2024

While I spoke in supercilious accents, and looked at the room as if I had an oil well in my own backyard, my armpits were being pricked by millions of hot pointed needles.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

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.