oil rigger
- noun
- /ɔɪl ˈrɪɡər/
- Specialized
- The oil rigger spent long hours on the platform, ensuring that the drilling equipment was functioning properly.
Examples
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After years of experience, the oil rigger was promoted to a supervisor on the drilling site.
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My goodness, was your father an oil rigger who specialized in etiquette?
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An oil rigger, construction worker, farmworker, common laborer, and even some office workers wear out way before bankers, doctors, lawyers, and even some tellers, all things being equal.
Blog text (12) -
An oil rigger operates heavy machinery on the offshore platform to extract crude oil.
Synonyms
A worker who runs the machine that makes holes for oil or gas
A person who finds, gets, or sells oil
A worker who does heavy physical work on oil rigs or construction sites
A person who works on an oil rig handling drilling equipment
How Tough
- Specialized
- US
- US
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun is compositional: 'oil' specifies the domain and 'rigger' denotes a person who rigs or handles equipment, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it means a worker on oil rigs. This occupation-type compound follows a common English pattern (and parallels in other languages), making the meaning transparently derivable from its parts.
Etymology
The noun oil rigger comes from the word 'rig', the big platform with heavy gear used to bring oil up from the sea or ground. A rigger is the worker who sets up and fixes that gear, so an oil rigger is a person who works on the rig to get oil.