refinery

[ri-fahy-nuh-ree]

noun

plural

refineries 

1. an establishment for refining something, as metal, sugar, or petroleum.

refinery

/ rɪˈfaɪnərɪ /

noun

1. a factory for the purification of some crude material, such as ore, sugar, oil, etc

refinery

1. An industrial plant that uses mechanical and chemical means to purify a substance, such as petroleum or sugar, or to convert it to a form that is more useful.

Word History and Origins

Origin of refinery¹

First recorded in 1720–30; refine + -ery

Example Sentences

The UK government is also pursuing a major Indian oil refinery and four Chinese oil terminals in a package of 90 new sanctions.

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Tesla opened a lithium refinery, and Exxon and Saudi Basic Industries Corp., the kingdom’s petrochemicals company, erected a $7 billion plastics facility.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

You can’t tariff your way out of dependency when your own refineries are designed to process heavy Canadian crude.

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Meanwhile, reports indicate that alongside urging Europe and India to halt purchases of Russian oil, Washington plans to share additional intelligence with Ukraine on Russian refineries, pipelines and other energy infrastructure.

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Since 2022, Russian crude has made up about a third of what has been imported by the refinery, according to Kpler.

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Related Words

• refiner www.thesaurus.com