oil

American  

[oil] / ɔɪl /

noun

• oils
  plural

1. 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.

2. a substance of this or similar consistency.

3. refined or crude petroleum.

4. Painting.

   1. oil color.

   2. oil painting.

5. Informal. unctuous hypocrisy; flattery.

6. an oilskin garment.

7. Australian and New Zealand Slang. facts or news; information.

   good oil.

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verb (used with object)

• oils,
  present (3rd person singular)
• oiled,
  past participle,  past
• oiling
  present participle

1. to smear, lubricate, or supply with oil.

2. to bribe.

3. to make unctuous or smooth.

   to oil his words.

4. to convert into oil by melting, as butter.

adjective

1. pertaining to or resembling oil.

2. using oil, especially as a fuel.

   an oil furnace.

3. concerned with the production or use of oil.

   an offshore oil rig.

4. made with oil.

5. obtained from oil.

idioms

1. pour oil on troubled waters, to attempt to calm a difficult or tense situation, as an argument.

2. strike oil,

   1. to discover oil, especially to bring in a well.

   2. to have good luck, especially financially; make an important and valuable discovery.

      They struck oil only after years of market research.

oil British  

/ ɔɪl /

noun

1. 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 chemicals See also essential oil fixed oil

2. 1. another name for petroleum

   2. ( as modifier )

      an oil engine

      an oil rig

3. 1. Also called: lubricating oil. any of a number of substances usually derived from petroleum and used for lubrication

   2. ( in combination )

      an oilcan

      an oilstone

   3. ( as modifier )

      an oil pump

4. Also called: fuel oil. a petroleum product used as a fuel in domestic heating, industrial furnaces, marine engines, etc

5. 1. paraffin, esp when used as a domestic fuel

   2. ( as modifier )

      an oil lamp

      an oil stove

6. any substance of a consistency resembling that of oil

   oil of vitriol

7. the solvent, usually linseed oil, with which pigments are mixed to make artists' paints

8. 1. (often plural) oil colour or paint

   2. ( as modifier )

      an oil painting

9. an oil painting

10. slang facts or news

11. 1. to discover petroleum while drilling for it

    2. informal to become very rich or successful

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verb

1. to lubricate, smear, polish, etc, with oil or an oily substance

2. informal to bribe (esp in the phrase oil someone's palm )

3. to make things run smoothly

4. See well-oiled

oil Scientific  

/ oil /

1. 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.

2. See essential oil mineral oil petroleum

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oil More Idioms  

1. 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).

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• oillessness
  noun
• reoil
  verb
• oil-like
  adjective
• oilless
  adjective
• oillike
  adjective
• self-oiling
  adjective
• unoiling
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• oils
  plural

Participles

• oiling
  present
• oiled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• oil
  simple
• oils
  simple
• have oiled
  perfect
• has oiled
  perfect
• am oiling
  progressive
• are oiling
  progressive
• is oiling
  progressive
• have been oiling
  perfect progressive
• has been oiling
  perfect progressive

Past

• oiled
  simple
• had oiled
  perfect
• was oiling
  progressive
• were oiling
  progressive
• had been oiling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will oil
  simple
• will have oiled
  perfect
• will be oiling
  progressive
• will have been oiling
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

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

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Explanation

Oil is a liquid fat or fuel. You might dress your salad with olive oil and use motor oil in your car's engine; just don't confuse the two! There's the oil you put in your car or use to oil a rusty lock — then there's the oil you heat to stir fry vegetables or whisk with vinegar to make salad dressing. Chemically, these oils have a lot in common, from their tendency to avoid water to their slipperiness to the ease with which they catch on fire. Still, you'd never want to toss a bowl of spaghetti with motor oil — stick to olive oil instead.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

oil oils oiled oiling

Among the measures is the requirement for every new batch of food to be tested, and for flour, rice and cooking oil to be purchased from centralised procurement points only.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

Higher oil prices also helped prop up Treasury yields, given their influence on inflation signals the Fed considers in its rate decisions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

At the same time escalating tensions in the Middle East, with ongoing strikes between the Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia, have pushed oil prices higher.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

Find insight on oil prices and more in the latest Market Talks covering Energy and Utilities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

A metal rack in one corner held car supplies—spare containers of oil, a big jug of windshield wiper fluid, a little vacuum that sat ready on its charger.

From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold

Some plants infuse their leaves with chemicals that are toxic to pests but useful to humans in moderation, such as the bitter tannins in tea and the fragrant oils in mint and rosemary.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

One promising approach involves testing plant-based essential oils, beneficial microorganisms, and other biological products as possible alternatives to conventional chemical treatments.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

Those roots contain fragrant compounds that can be extracted to make essential oils.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

Full synthetic and low-viscosity grade oils like 0W-20, 0W-16, 0W-8 are the most affected by reduced refining capacity in the Persian Gulf, according to the Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association, a U.S. trade group.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Vincent finds oils easier to paint with than watercolors, and loves to lay the paint on thickly, a technique called impasto.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

And it is proper: a leather-stitched, handball-sized shift knob, ever shivering with engine revs, the short throws between gears landing in oiled, notchy slots.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026

Over the following months the wood is cut, settled, rounded, spliced, planed, fitted with a brass tip and leather pad, sanded in nine different ways, oiled, and finally waxed, before being complete.

From BBC ● May 2, 2025

Even though you may wet it during some part of the precooking process — like dipping it in egg before dredging it in flour — it should be dry or only lightly oiled before cooking.

From Salon ● Apr. 1, 2025

“Once it gets challenged or exposed, the gaslighting and redirection of the blame toward anyone willing to tell the truth starts through an international well oiled publicity machine,” Freedman said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2024

The hair on his head was as thick and oiled as an otter’s pelt.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

I learned that oiling the blade prevents humidity from tarnishing the steel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 23, 2025

The high concentration of pine forest in North Gyeongsang province, where the fires are burning, is also "oiling" the blaze, said a forest disaster expert.

From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2025

If commoners' living standards slip—not relative to the elites, but relative to what they had before—they accept the overtures of the counter-elites and start oiling the axles of their tumbrels.

From Salon ● Jan. 9, 2023

The final count for the spill will likely be closer to the lower figure, which correlates with the amount of oiling seen on the California shore.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 14, 2021

Within a week the ship jumpers possessed mill jobs—stacking lumber, sweeping sawdust, hauling slab wood, oiling machines—worth eleven cents an hour.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

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