noun
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a person who owns or operates oil wells
-
a person who makes or sells oil
Gender
See -man.
Etymology
Origin of oilman
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at oil, man
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.
But what is opportunity to one oilman is “uninvestable” to another.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 14, 2026
Growing up around Laredo, in South Texas, Lewis didn’t set out to be an oilman.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 12, 2026
The Texas oilman put a blank check on the table.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 8, 2024
Buckley was the fourth of 10 children of a millionaire oilman and older brother of conservative commentator William F. Buckley Jr., who died in February 2008.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 18, 2023
Another famed oilman in Oklahoma quickly burned through $50 million and ended up destitute.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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.
