oleo
1 Americannoun
combining form
Etymology
Origin of oleo1
First recorded in 1880–85; by shortening of oleomargarine
Origin of oleo-2
< Latin, combining form representing oleum oil
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.
The key is oleo saccharum, which sounds like an ingredient from a laboratory, but is really just a process that pulls essential oils from citrus using sugar.
From Washington Post • Apr. 8, 2020
But that hope might be oleo, a poor substitute.
From Time • May 13, 2013
Taxpayers can justly complain, as one did recently, about being "forced to pay for butter while eating oleo."
From Time Magazine Archive
Buttermakers thought that Congress had picked the worst possible time to repeal oleo taxes, for butter prices have been slipping and surpluses mounting.
From Time Magazine Archive
Too tired to mix the saffron-colored powder into the hard cake of oleo, she simply smeared the white stuff on the bread and sprinkled the sugar over it.
From "Sula" by Toni Morrison
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.
