oil well
19
2.8
- noun
- /ɔɪl wɛl/
- Specialized
:
pozo de petróleo
- We went in to re-tap the oil wells, and we've discovered something much more valuable.
- drilling oil wells
- oil well sites
I buy oil wells, so I have oil wells in North Dakota and Louisiana.
- I buy oil wells, so I have oil wells in North Dakota and Louisiana.
- It's it's not the the oil wells of Iraq.
Examples
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After drilling for months, they finally struck oil at their new oil well.
-
Our oil well came in.
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Drilling an oil well in deep water, for instance, can cost between $20 million and $50 million.
Academic text (2001) -
At that moment, I was selling oil wells in North Dakota and Texas.
-
The site of the original oil well has been established as the Drake Well Museum and Park.
Academic text (2009) -
By the end of 2009, there were 825,000 producing oil wells in the US.
Blog text (8) -
We drilled 12,000 new oil wells in the first six months of this year.
Blog text (3) -
In April 2010, a blowout of BP's Macondo oil well triggered an explosion that killed 11 workers.
Blog text (31) -
The oil well produced more than 1,000 barrels of oil each day.
-
Investing in an oil well can be a risky but potentially profitable venture.
Synonyms
118
2.0
A deep hole or space that holds water
10
8.1
An oil well that shoots out oil with great force
4
7.4
A deep hole drilled in the ground to get oil, gas, or water
1
7.7
A well that produces oil from the ground
1
9.6
An oil well near the end of its life that produces less than ten barrels a day
A well drilled to find oil in a new area
How Productive
- Specialized
10
8.1
- Specialized
19
2.8
- Specialized
- Jargon
3
7.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a deep hole drilled to extract oil' is directly and compositionally derived from 'oil' (the substance) + 'well' (a shaft or excavation for drawing up a liquid). This noun–noun compound follows a productive and cross-linguistically common pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Oil well comes from the simple picture of a deep well, like a water well, that reaches down to find oil under the ground. That's why it means 'a deep hole in the ground where people drill or pump out oil'.