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oilcan

American  
[oil-kan] / ˈɔɪlˌkæn /

noun

  1. a can having a long spout through which oil is poured or squirted to lubricate machinery or the like.

oilcan British  
/ ˈɔɪlˌkæn /

noun

  1. a container with a long nozzle for applying lubricating oil to machinery

"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 oilcan

First recorded in 1830–40; oil + can 2

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.

Later, there’s a quick cut to a farmer pouring from an oilcan into a doghouse with such purpose on his face that you don’t ask questions.

From Slate • Apr. 4, 2013

Continental is about to open two new plants to make plastic bags, has just come out with a new plastic motor-oil "can"�the fourth switch in its oilcan materials in as many years.

From Time Magazine Archive

"The oilcan is mightier than the sword," he believed.

From Time Magazine Archive

Army Signal Corps team had installed a White House telephone near by; it had been left on an upturned yellow oilcan.

From Time Magazine Archive

He then took a moment to carefully look the whole mechanism over, and added a few drops of oil to each gear shaft from a little oilcan in his kit.

From "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick

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.