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fuel oil

fuel oil

5 3.5
A heavy oil that heats buildings and runs engines
  • noun
  • /fjul ɔɪl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : aceite combustible
  • In return, the North received annual deliveries of fuel oil and two advanced technology light water reactors (LWR).
  • residual fuel oil
  • heavy fuel oil
  • fuel oil prices

Your big fossil fuel oil, gas, coal, nuclear power plants, they'll all be mothballed.

Examples

  • Japanese manufacturing industries rapidly decreased heavy fuel oil consumption in the 1980s.

  • Japanese manufacturing industries rapidly decreased heavy fuel oil consumption in the 1980s.

    Academic text (1993)
  • The heavy fuel oil used for process heating has been replaced by light oil and coal.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Also, in April 1993, Japan made a special delivery of fuel oil to the islands.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Unlike petrol, which is always in demand, heavy fuel oil does not have many uses other than as a heating fuel.

    Academic text (1996)
  • The result was a surge in the demand for fuel oil and crude oil, which can be burned to generate power.

    Academic text (2009)
  • The university also has 300,000 gallons of fuel oil as a backup in case of a natural gas supply disruption.

    Academic text (2006)
  • After independence in 1991, gas prices and heavy fuel oil prices increased by 1,200 percent and 1,036 percent, respectively.

    Academic text (1996)
  • A typical home along Penobscot Avenue burns about 800 gallons of fuel oil during a heating season.

  • Small factories using heavy fuel oil previously had been a major source of both pollutants.

Synonyms

fuel
vsfuel oil
1.0

A material burned to make energy for heat, light or engines

is a specific heavy petroleum product for engines, furnaces, or boilers
heating oil
vsfuel oil
  • UK
15 3.3

Fuel made from oil used to heat homes and other buildings

is used in engines as well as in heating systems
diesel fuel
vsfuel oil
  • Specialized
14 2.8

A heavy oil used to power engines in vehicles and machines

is used more broadly in engines, furnaces, or boilers
diesel oil
vsfuel oil
  • Specialized
1 2.8

A heavy oil used as fuel in diesel engines

covers heavier petroleum uses beyond engines alone, including heating
gas oil
vsfuel oil
  • Specialized
1 5.3

A heavy fuel made from oil that runs boilers and large engines

is a heavy petroleum product used in engines, furnaces, or boilers

How Viscous

bitumen
  • UK
3 7.4
fuel oil
  • Specialized
5 3.5
lubricating oil
  • Specialized
1 3.4
gas oil
  • Specialized
1 5.3
kerosene
41 3.8

Surface Forms

fuel oil singular
fuel oils plural

Morphology

fuel + oil

The noun is directly compositional: a B1 learner who knows 'fuel' (material burned to make energy) and 'oil' (a liquid used for lubrication or fuel) can infer that 'fuel oil' is oil used as a fuel. This compound follows a transparent modifier-head pattern common across languages, so its meaning is immediately derivable from its parts.

Etymology

Fuel oil comes from the simple idea of oil that is used as fuel to burn in engines or heaters. So it means 'heavy oil' that people burn to make heat or power.