oil
[verb]
Synonyms: lubricate, grease

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. oil¹ S2 W1 /ɔɪl/ noun
[Date: 1100-1200; Language: Old French; Origin: oile, from Latin oleum 'olive oil', from Greek elaia 'olive']

1. NATURAL SUBSTANCE UNDER THE GROUND [uncountable] the thick dark liquid from under the ground from which petrol is produced ⇒ crude:
a rise in the price of oil
the importance of protecting our oil supplies
an oil refinery (=factory where oil is made purer)

2. FUEL [uncountable] a smooth thick liquid that is used to make machines run easily or is burned to produce heat:
Check the oil level in your car every week.
The heating system runs on oil.

3.
LIQUID FROM PLANTS [uncountable and countable] a smooth thick liquid made from plants or some animals, used especially in cooking or for making beauty products:
cooking oil
olive/vegetable/sunflower etc oil
coconut oil shampoo
Fish oils are supposed to help relieve arthritis. ⇒ castor oil, cod-liver oil, linseed oil

4. PAINT oils [plural] paints that contain oil Synonym : oil paints
in oils
I usually paint in oils (=using oils).
⇒ burn the midnight oil at burn¹(20), ⇒ pour oil on troubled waters at pour(8)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. oil² verb [transitive]

1. to put oil onto part of a machine or part of something that moves, to help it to move or work more smoothly:
The bicycle chain needs oiling.

2. to put oil or cream onto your skin, for example to protect you from the sun:
I asked Simon to oil my back for me.

3. oil the wheels British English to help something to be done in business or politics successfully and easily

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

oil
noun
I. used as fuel/to make machines work smoothly
ADJ. heavy | light | crude | refined | offshore | engine, fuel, heating, lubricating, motor | linseed, paraffin Use a rag soaked in linseed oil.
QUANT. barrel | film a rod coated with a film of oil
drop
VERB + OIL extract, obtain, produce | drill for The company is drilling for oil in the North Sea.
discover, find, hit, strike | pump | export, import | burn, use | change (in a car, etc.) | soak sth in | smell of The place smelled of paint and oil.
OIL + NOUN company, producer | industry, production | drilling, exploration | field, rig, well | drum | tanker | refinery | prices, revenue | slick, spill, spillage a seven-mile-long oil slick off the Scottish coast

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

oil
II. used in cooking
ADJ. cooking | polyunsaturated | rancid | coconut, cod liver, fish, groundnut, olive, sesame, sunflower, vegetable a bottle of extra virgin olive oil
salad
VERB + OIL heat | boil sb/sth in, cook sth in, fry sth in | drizzle, pour Toast the bread, rub with garlic and drizzle over a little olive oil.
PREP. in ~ Fry the potato in a little sunflower oil.
 ⇒ Special page at FOOD

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

oil
III. used as a cosmetic/medicine
ADJ. aromatic, fragrant, scented | essential extracting essential oils from flowers
body, hair | baby, bath | aromatherapy, massage | castor, evening primrose, lavender, etc.
VERB + OIL massage/rub into, massage/rub sth with She rubbed a scented oil into her hair.
anoint sb/sth with The sick were anointed with oil.
extract
PREP. ~ of oil of rosemary

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

oil

discover/find oil
Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia in 1938.
How does a company go about finding oil and getting it from the ground?
hit/strike oil (=to find oil when you are digging for it)
The engineers drilled down a few hundred metres until they hit oil.
The Ohio Oil Company struck oil on May 3rd.
drill for oil
Plans to drill for oil off the New South Wales coast have recently been revived.
produce oil (=to have natural areas of oil, and take it out of the ground)
The US does not produce enough oil to meet its own needs.
extract oil formal (=to take oil out of an area)
the difficult process of extracting the oil
crude oil (=oil in its natural state)
the price of crude oil
refined oil (=oil that has been treated by an industrial process)
They had exported refined oil.
offshore oil (=found under the sea, not far from the coast)
The company has the technical capabilities to produce offshore oil.
heavy/light oil
2,000 barrels of heavy oil are produced a day.
The oil corporation announced the discovery of another field of light oil.
oil prices
The increase in oil prices has prompted warnings of a global recession.
the oil industry
He works in in the oil industry.
an oil company
YPF was the state oil company in Argentina.
an oil producer (=a country which produces oil)
The Soviet Union is the world's largest oil producer.
an oil refinery (=a place where oil is treated by an industrial process)
an oil refinery in Perth
oil production
a fall in US oil production
an oil spill (=situation in which oil comes out of a ship or other container into the sea)
a terrible oil spill near the Shetland Islands
an oil crisis (=situation in which there is not enough oil, and the price of oil is very high)
The world is facing an oil crisis.
an oil rig (=structure on land or in the sea with equipment for getting oil out of the ground)
an oil rig in the North Sea

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

oil
ɔɪl
See: pour oil on troubled waters

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲