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Synonyms

refinery

American  
[ri-fahy-nuh-ree] / rɪˈfaɪ nə ri /

noun

plural

refineries

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

refinery British  
/ rɪˈfaɪnərɪ /

noun

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

"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
refinery Scientific  
/ rĭ-fī′nə-rē /

  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.

Etymology

Origin of refinery

First recorded in 1720–30; refine + -ery

Explanation

A refinery is a facility where raw materials are converted into some valuable substance by having impurities removed. At an oil refinery, crude oil is treated and made into gasoline and other petroleum products. Whenever a material needs to have unwanted parts removed in order to be made into a useable product, it must be refined — clarified or processed. This is done at a plant called a refinery. A sugar refinery, for example, converts sugar cane or beets into familiar white, refined crystals of sugar. Refinery comes from refine, which is rooted in the now-obsolete verb fine, "make fine."

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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.

Mische’s analysis blames at least some of the state’s gasoline production constraints on a Feb. 1, 2025, fire that kept a Martinez refinery fully or partially offline until late that year.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026

Tuapse is home to a major oil refinery and an export hub for oil and coal.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

The company is involved in the entire downstream precious-metal supply chain—from refinery operations, the minting of investment-grade numismatic bullion, worldwide transportation, and storage services to online precious-metals retail.

From Barron's • Apr. 16, 2026

Fuel production at a critical Australian oil refinery has significantly dropped after a major fire but tougher restrictions will not be introduced, the country's prime minister has said.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

I remember that on that moonless night in February 1942, they attacked the big Lago oil refinery on Aruba, the sister island west of us.

From "The Cay" by Theodore Taylor

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.