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oil heater

oil heater

1 3.4
A heater that burns oil such as kerosene to warm a room or cook food
  • noun
  • /ɔɪl ˈhiːtər/
translation icon : calentador de aceite
  • I lit the oil heater, but it gave off unpleasant odors that I could only disperse by opening all the windows.
  • light the oil heater

Examples

  • While she fidgeted with the matches to light the oil heater, the telephone rang.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • While she fidgeted with the matches to light the oil heater, the telephone rang unexpectedly.

  • A small oil heater burned in one corner.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Our fuel oil heater worked, but with no blower, well, not much.

    Blog text (22)
  • Although some of its houses are still used in summer, the school and its oil heater have stayed untouched.

    Academic text (2012)
  • She has an office there, complete with an oil heater and glass-paneled shower.

    Academic text (2003)
  • The students had brought oil heaters and standard lamps with imitation stained-glass shades.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • This concern was mitigated, however, by information received from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (PSCAA), which authorizes the practice of burning used oil in 500,000-BTU oil heaters in King County.

    Academic text (2003)
  • He uses an oil heater at his house in New Hampshire to stay warm during the winter.

  • A small oil heater burned in one corner of the room, providing warmth on a chilly evening.

Synonyms

heater
vsoil heater
93 1.0

A machine that makes a room or water warm

refers specifically to an oil burning appliance often used for cooking
warmer
vsoil heater
19 3.2

A machine that heats and keeps water, food, or a room hot

provides stronger oil based heat and can serve for cooking too
space heater
vsoil heater
  • US
11 3.1

A small heater that you can move to warm one room

specifies oil as the fuel and also includes cooking use
kerosene heater
vsoil heater
1 3.7

A small heater that burns kerosene to warm a room

is the more general oil-burning appliance, not limited to kerosene mentions
oil furnace
vsoil heater
  • US
1 3.3

A machine that burns oil to heat a home or building

is for single-room or portable heating and can also be used for cooking
oil burner
vsoil heater
1 3.3

A machine that burns oil to make heat for a building

is for smaller portable or household use rather than large scale heating
kerosine heater
vsoil heater
  • UK
4.2

A portable device that burns kerosine to warm a room or cook food

uses a general oil term rather than the specific kerosine spelling or name
oilstove
vsoil heater
5.8

A stove that uses oil like kerosene for heating or cooking

focuses on providing warmth primarily rather than stove cooking design
warmaker
vsoil heater
8.0

A device that makes a room warm by producing heat

is specific about burning oil as the fuel for warmth or cooking

How Powerful

heater
93 1.0
oil heater
1 3.4
space heater
  • US
11 3.1

Surface Forms

oil heater singular
oil heaters plural

Morphology

oil + heater

The meaning 'a heater that uses oil as fuel' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'oil' (fuel) with 'heater' (appliance that produces heat). This simple noun+noun compound follows a common compositional pattern found across many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The noun oil heater comes from the simple picture of a heater that burns oil to make heat. People would pour oil into a small tank, light it, and the hot metal would give 'warmth', so the name links oil, the fuel, and heater, the thing that makes a room warm.