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

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

Basic food items such as vegetable oil and sugar became scarce on store shelves, Moscow’s then ambassador to Pyongyang told Russian state media in 2021.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

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

From Barron's • Feb. 8, 2026

The bird was brought to the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach on July 23, where staff used vegetable oil and solvents to gradually and gently remove the remaining glue.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 16, 2025

At the microscopic level, the protein cubes were solid food particles suspended in thick vegetable oil.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Related Words

• lard
• lubricant
• oil