oil

The word “oil” means a thick, greasy liquid, either from plants, animals, or petroleum, used for cooking, fuel, or lubrication. In plain terms, a greasy liquid used for cooking, fuel, or keeping machine parts moving smoothly.

“Oil” is pronounced oyl (/ɔɪl/ in IPA).

Here is “oil” used in a sentence: “She fried the vegetables in olive oil.”

Depending on how it is used, “oil” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “oil” comes from Latin. From Old French olie, ultimately from Latin oleum, "olive oil" — from the Greek word for "olive".

“Oil” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

“Oil” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a thick, greasy liquid, either from plants, animals, or petroleum, used for cooking, fuel, or lubrication.

Oils fall into a few broad groups. Cooking oils, such as olive, sunflower, and vegetable oil, come from plants. Petroleum oils, including crude oil and motor oil, are refined from the ground and used as fuel or lubricant. There are also animal oils and concentrated essential oils used in fragrance.

Both reduce friction, but oil is a free-flowing liquid while grease is semi-solid. Grease is essentially oil combined with a thickening agent that helps it stay in place. Oil suits parts that move quickly and need constant lubrication; grease is better for joints that must hold their coating over time.

Oil is one of the most useful substances in daily life. In the kitchen it cooks and flavors food; in engines and machinery it lubricates moving parts and reduces wear; and as petroleum it fuels vehicles, heats homes, and supplies industry with raw material for countless products, from plastics to medicines.

Olive oil is a familiar plant oil used in cooking, while motor oil is a petroleum product that lubricates engines. Crude oil, pumped from underground, is refined into fuels like gasoline and diesel. Each is thick, greasy, and does not mix with water, the shared traits of any oil.