Library / English Dictionary

OIL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Oil paint containing pigment that is used by an artist

Synonyms:

oil; oil color; oil colour

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("oil" is a kind of...):

oil paint (paint in which a drying oil is the vehicle)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any of a group of liquid edible fats that are obtained from plants

Synonyms:

oil; vegetable oil

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("oil" is a kind of...):

edible fat (oily or greasy matter making up the bulk of fatty tissue in animals and in seeds and other plant tissue)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "oil"):

madia oil (used as a substitute for olive oil)

walnut oil (oil from walnuts)

sunflower-seed oil; sunflower oil (oil from sunflower seeds)

soyabean oil; soybean oil (oil from soya beans)

sesame oil (oil obtained from sesame seeds)

safflower oil (oil from seeds of the safflower plant)

salad oil (any of several edible vegetable oils that can be used in salad dressings)

groundnut oil; peanut oil (an oil from peanuts; used in cooking and making soap)

palm oil (oil from nuts of oil palms especially the African oil palm)

olive oil (oil from olives)

cottonseed oil (edible oil pressed from cottonseeds)

corn oil (oil from the germs of corn grains)

coconut oil; copra oil (oil from coconuts)

canola; canola oil (vegetable oil made from rapeseed; it is high in monounsaturated fatty acids)

sweet oil (mild vegetable oil when used as food; especially olive or edible rape oil)

cooking oil (any of numerous vegetable oils used in cooking)

drying oil (an oil that hardens in air due to oxidation and is often used as a paint or varnish base)

Holonyms ("oil" is a substance of...):

margarin; margarine; marge; oleo; oleomargarine (a spread made chiefly from vegetable oils and used as a substitute for butter)

Derivation:

oily (containing an unusual amount of grease or oil)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A slippery or viscous liquid or liquefiable substance not miscible with water

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("oil" is a kind of...):

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))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "oil"):

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)

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; oil; petroleum; rock 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)

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-nut oil; cohune fat; cohune 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)

Derivation:

oil (administer an oil or ointment to; often in a religious ceremony of blessing)

oil (cover with oil, as if by rubbing)

oiler (a cargo ship designed to carry crude oil in bulk)

oiler (a well that yields or has yielded oil)

oiler (a worker who oils engines or machinery)

oily (coated or covered with oil)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A dark oil consisting mainly of hydrocarbons

Synonyms:

crude; crude oil; fossil oil; oil; petroleum; rock oil

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("oil" is a kind of...):

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)

Meronyms (substance of "oil"):

atomic number 6; C; carbon (an abundant nonmetallic tetravalent element occurring in three allotropic forms: amorphous carbon and graphite and diamond; occurs in all organic compounds)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "oil"):

resid; residual oil (oil products that remain after petroleum has been distilled)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Administer an oil or ointment to; often in a religious ceremony of blessing

Synonyms:

anele; anoint; embrocate; inunct; oil

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "oil" is one way to...):

bless (give a benediction to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody with something

Derivation:

oil (a slippery or viscous liquid or liquefiable substance not miscible with water)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Cover with oil, as if by rubbing

Example:

oil the wooden surface

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "oil" is one way to...):

cover (provide with a covering or cause to be covered)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

oil (a slippery or viscous liquid or liquefiable substance not miscible with water)

oiler (a worker who oils engines or machinery)

Credits

 Context examples: 

A flare of acne which may be precipitated by variety of factors, including hormonal activity, stress, oils and oily cosmetics, sweat, overwashing, and certain foods and drugs.

(Aggravated Acne, NCI Thesaurus)

The essential oil of Amomum villosum.

(Amomum villosum Leaf Oil, NCI Thesaurus)

Mean levels of oleic acid, the constituent of olive oil, remained stable in both treatment groups.

(Omega-3s from fish oil supplements no better than placebo for dry eye, National Institutes of Health)

The oils produced by certain species are very often rich in compounds like Omega 3 and carotenoids.

(Brazilian researchers identify microalgae that can provide biofuels, Agência Brasil)

A type of oil that is made from petroleum (mixture of oily liquids found in the earth).

(Mineral oil, NCI Dictionary)

Yet the seal-oil burned brightly and we were warm and comfortable.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

The oil rendered from the shin bones and feet of cattle.

(Neatsfoot Oil, NCI Thesaurus)

I sought the key of the side-door in the kitchen; I sought, too, a phial of oil and a feather; I oiled the key and the lock.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

See that the triggers are oiled, Ambrose, for I love a light pull.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The fire was needed, but the lamp was lit—as a comparison of the oil consumed will show—long after it was broad daylight.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)