oily
Americanadjective
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soaked in or smeared with oil or grease
-
consisting of, containing, or resembling oil
-
flatteringly servile or obsequious
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of oily
Explanation
Oily things are greasy, slippery, or covered with oil — think a bowl of oily pasta or the oily garage floor after you've been tinkering with your motorcycle's engine. Anything containing oil, covered in oil, or resembling oil is oily. A batch of muffins might taste weirdly oily when you use too much butter, and the rags lying around a car repair shop are mostly black and oily. Your brother's hair will probably be pretty oily after he refuses to wash it for a month. Since the sixteenth century, oily has also had the figurative meaning of "insincerely flattering or slick," like an oily car salesman.
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.
Videos posted to social media have shown apocalyptic scenes of a burning liquid oozing down the street, and the persistent smoke has prompted complaints of a “black rain” that leaves an oily residue.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 2, 2026
The finished dish is buttery and oily in all the right ways.
From Salon • May 1, 2026
About 200 barrels of oily water escaped from a pipeline at Wytch Farm oil field into Poole Harbour on 26 March 2023.
From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026
These targets can be achieved by eating more oily fish, such as salmon or mackerel, or through supplementation where needed.
From Science Daily • Dec. 9, 2025
Dympna asked her over oily mugs of tea, four hours later.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
