vegetable oil

American  

noun

• vegetable oils
  plural

1. any of a large group of oils that are esters of fatty acids and glycerol, obtained from the leaves, fruit, or seeds of plants.

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vegetable oil British  

noun

1. any of a group of oils that are esters of fatty acids and glycerol and are obtained from plants

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• vegetable oils
  plural

Etymology

Origin of vegetable oil

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vegetable oil

And Phillips 66’s refinery in Rodeo, Calif., also makes renewable diesel from vegetable oil.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

Giada called for one 18.25-ounce box of chocolate cake mix, which was blended with raspberry puree, vegetable oil, eggs and a dash of water in a large bowl.

From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2026

Imports from Malaysia amounted to $12.54 billion, mainly minerals, vegetable oil and electrical machinery and equipment.

From Barron's ● Feb. 8, 2026

ADM buys crops and sells them to food companies, governments and other buyers globally while running processing plants that turn oilseeds and grain into vegetable oil, fuel, livestock feed and other products.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026

It wasn’t very good quality; it smelled faintly of vegetable oil.

From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood

Related Words

• lard
• lubricant
• oil