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oleo

oleo

1 8.8
A spread made from vegetable oils used instead of butter
  • noun
  • /ˈoʊliˌoʊ/
  • Archaic
translation icon : oleo
  • We spread some oleo on the warm toast for breakfast.

Examples

  • Tubs of butter, sticks of oleo, or squeeze Parkay.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Then, just before she put 'em in the hot, hot oven, she drizzled melted butter, not margarine, not oleo, but real butter, over each one of them.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Do you have any oleo?

    Fiction book (1996)
  • I'm watching the, uh-- come on, and don't burn the oleo this time.

  • However, the same amount of credit can purchase far less of the high-priced oleo than of the lower-priced one.

    Blog text (28)
  • "There's oleo on the table," she said, and put two slices of bread in the toaster.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Here's the oleo.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Scalloped potatoes resting in milk, pools of oleo making indentations in the oval slices.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Now I don't mean a measly schmear of margarine or oleo on a toasted bun like some burger joints tout.

    Blog text (15)
  • The recipe called for a cup of oleo instead of butter to make it dairy-free.

Synonyms

marge
vsoleo
  • UK
139 7.9

A soft spread made from vegetable oils used instead of butter

is the standard formal name used in neutral contexts
margarine
vsoleo
20 1.0

A soft spread made from vegetable oil used instead of butter

is a shorter informal label rather than the full formal name
oleomargarine
vsoleo
  • Archaic
6.9

A spread made from vegetable oils used instead of butter, often on bread

is the shorter, more informal name for that same product

Compounds

oleo oil
  • Archaic
9.9

A yellowish oil made from beef fat used to make margarine, soap, and help machines run smoothly

Surface Forms

oleo singular
oleos plural

Etymology

Oleo comes from the longer word oleomargarine, built from Latin oleum meaning 'oil' and the word margarine. Think of oleo as 'oil butter' — a spread made from vegetable oils instead of dairy butter, so it means a butter substitute.