oil

oil (oil)

1. Any of numerous mineral, vegetable, and synthetic substances and animal and vegetable fats that are generally slippery, combustible, viscous, liquid or liquefiable at room temperatures, soluble in various organic solvents such as ether but not in water, and used in a great variety of products, especially lubricants and fuels.

a. Petroleum.

b. A petroleum derivative, such as a machine oil or lubricant.

3. A substance with an oily consistency.

4. Oil paint.

5. A painting done in oil paint.

6. Insincere flattery.

tr.v. oiled, oil·ing, oils

To lubricate, supply, cover, or polish with oil.

Idiom:

oil (someone's) hand/palm Informal

1. To bribe: an attorney who tried to oil the judge's hand to obtain a favorable verdict.

2. To give a tip to: oiled the porter's palm.

[Middle English, from Old French oile, from Latin oleum, olive oil, from Greek *elaiwon, elaion, from *elaiw, elai, olive.]

oil

Noun

1. any of a number of viscous liquids with a smooth sticky feel, which are usually flammable, insoluble in water, and are obtained from plants, animals, or mineral deposits by synthesis

2. same as petroleum

3. a substance derived from petroleum and used for lubrication

4. Brit paraffin as a domestic fuel

5. oil colour or paint

6. an oil painting

Verb

1. to lubricate with oil or apply oil to

2. oil the wheels to make things run smoothly [Latin oleum (olive) oil]

oil (oil)

Any of a large class of viscous liquids that are typically very slippery and greasy. Oils are composed mostly of glycerides. They are flammable, do not mix with water, and include animal and vegetable fats as well as substances of mineral or synthetic origin. They are used in food, soap, and candles, and make good lubricants and fuels. See essential oil mineral oil petroleum

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Noun	1.	oil - a slippery or viscous liquid or liquefiable substance not miscible with water sassafras oil - oil from root bark of sassafras trees; used in perfumery and as a disinfectant calamus oil - carcinogenic oil from calamus root used as a perfume mustard oil - oil obtained from mustard seeds and used in making soap colza oil, rape oil, rapeseed oil - edible light yellow to brown oil from rapeseed used also as a lubricant or illuminant safflower oil - oil from safflower seeds used as food as well as in medicines and paints hydnocarpus oil - oil from seeds of trees of the genus Hydnocarpus especially Hydnocarpus wightiana (Hydnocarpus laurifolia) babacu oil, babassu oil - fatty oil from kernels of babassu nuts similar to coconut oil cohune fat, cohune oil, cohune-nut oil - semisolid fat from nuts of the cohune palm; used in cooking and soap making almond oil, expressed almond oil, sweet almond oil - pale yellow fatty oil expressed from sweet or bitter almonds hedeoma oil, pennyroyal oil - aromatic oil from American pennyroyal hyssop oil - used chiefly in liqueurs spike lavender oil, spike oil - pale yellow essential oil obtained from spike lavender used in scenting soaps and cosmetics pennyroyal oil - oil from European pennyroyal having an odor like mint; used chiefly in soaps croton oil - viscid acrid brownish-yellow oil from the seeds of Croton tiglium having a violent cathartic action fuel oil, heating oil - a petroleum product used for fuel animal oil - any oil obtained from animal substances camphor oil - oil distilled from camphor resin grease, lubricating oil - a thick fatty oil (especially one used to lubricate machinery) essential oil, volatile oil - an oil having the odor or flavor of the plant from which it comes; used in perfume and flavorings lipid, lipide, lipoid - an oily organic compound insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents; essential structural component of living cells (along with proteins and carbohydrates) mineral oil - a distillate of petroleum (especially one used medicinally as a laxative or stool softener) motor oil - oil used to lubricate the moving parts of a motor fatty oil, fixed oil - nonvolatile animal or plant oil fusel oil - a mixture of amyl alcohols and propanol and butanol formed from distillation of fermented liquors stand oil - a thick oil comprised of linseed, tung, or soya oils which have been heated to over 300 C neroli oil - an odoriferous yellow oil found in orange flowers and used in perfumery and as a flavoring tall oil - an oil derived from wood pulp and used in making soaps or lubricants crude, crude oil, fossil oil, petroleum, rock oil, oil - a dark oil consisting mainly of hydrocarbons shale oil - oil extracted from oil shale by heating flaxseed oil, linseed oil - a drying oil extracted from flax seed and used in making such things as oil paints Chinese wood oil, tung oil - a yellow oil obtained from the seeds of the tung tree chaulmoogra oil - an oil from chaulmoogra trees; used in treatment of skin diseases and leprosy lemon grass, lemongrass, lemongrass oil - an aromatic oil that smells like lemon and is widely used in Asian cooking and in perfumes and medicines
	2.	oil - oil paint containing pigment that is used by an artist oil color, oil colour oil paint - paint in which a drying oil is the vehicle
	3.	oil - a dark oil consisting mainly of hydrocarbons crude, crude oil, fossil oil, petroleum, rock oil atomic number 6, carbon, C - an abundant nonmetallic tetravalent element occurring in three allotropic forms: amorphous carbon and graphite and diamond; occurs in all organic compounds fossil fuel - fuel consisting of the remains of organisms preserved in rocks in the earth's crust with high carbon and hydrogen content oil - a slippery or viscous liquid or liquefiable substance not miscible with water resid, residual oil - oil products that remain after petroleum has been distilled
	4.	oil - any of a group of liquid edible fats that are obtained from plants vegetable oil edible fat - oily or greasy matter making up the bulk of fatty tissue in animals and in seeds and other plant tissue margarine, marge, oleo, oleomargarine, margarin - a spread made chiefly from vegetable oils and used as a substitute for butter cooking oil - any of numerous vegetable oils used in cooking sweet oil - mild vegetable oil when used as food; especially olive or edible rape oil canola, canola oil - vegetable oil made from rapeseed; it is high in monounsaturated fatty acids coconut oil, copra oil - oil from coconuts corn oil - oil from the germs of corn grains cottonseed oil - edible oil pressed from cottonseeds olive oil - oil from olives palm oil - oil from nuts of oil palms especially the African oil palm groundnut oil, peanut oil - an oil from peanuts; used in cooking and making soap salad oil - any of several edible vegetable oils that can be used in salad dressings safflower oil - oil from seeds of the safflower plant sesame oil - oil obtained from sesame seeds soyabean oil, soybean oil - oil from soya beans sunflower oil, sunflower-seed oil - oil from sunflower seeds walnut oil - oil from walnuts madia oil - used as a substitute for olive oil drying oil - an oil that hardens in air due to oxidation and is often used as a paint or varnish base
Verb	1.	oil - cover with oil, as if by rubbing; "oil the wooden surface" cover - provide with a covering or cause to be covered; "cover her face with a handkerchief"; "cover the child with a blanket"; "cover the grave with flowers"
	2.	oil - administer an oil or ointment to ; often in a religious ceremony of blessing anele, embrocate, inunct, anoint bless - give a benediction to; "The dying man blessed his son"