Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Something consumed to produce energy, especially.
- noun A material such as wood, coal, gas, or oil burned to produce heat or power.
- noun Fissionable material used in a nuclear reactor.
- noun Nutritive material metabolized by a living organism; food.
- noun Something that maintains or stimulates an activity or emotion.
- intransitive verb To provide with fuel.
- intransitive verb To support or stimulate the activity or existence of.
- intransitive verb To take in fuel.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To feed or furnish with fuel or combustible matter.
- noun Any matter which serves by combustion for the production of fire; combustible matter, as wood, coal, peat, oil, etc.
- noun Figuratively, anything that serves to feed or increase something conceived as analogous to flame, as passion or emotional excitement.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Any matter used to produce heat by burning; that which feeds fire; combustible matter used for fires, as wood, coal, peat, etc.
- noun Anything that serves to feed or increase passion or excitement.
- noun fuel consisting of small particles, as coal dust, sawdust, etc., consolidated into lumps or blocks.
- transitive verb obsolete To feed with fuel.
- transitive verb obsolete To store or furnish with fuel or firing.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
Substance consumed to provideenergy throughcombustion , or throughchemical ornuclear reaction . - noun Substance that provides nourishment for a living organism;
food . - noun figuratively Something that stimulates, encourages or maintains an action.
- verb to provide fuel
- verb to
exacerbate , to cause to grow or become greater
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb provide with fuel
- noun a substance that can be consumed to produce energy
- verb provide with a combustible substance that provides energy
- verb stimulate
- verb take in fuel, as of a ship
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word fuel.
Examples
-
Fossil fuel is a word made up by the Devil and promoted by the liberal media … all clear bobcat?
Think Progress » Exxon CEO Defends Predecessor’s $400 Million Retirement Package 2006
-
Each man had three strips, one for barley, one for wheat and one for grass, besides a right to pasture a cow or a pig and obtain fuel from the common fields.
-
When the average person hears the term fuel cell, typically what comes to mind is something that mysteriously makes electricity from hydrogen.
Muti 2009
-
By controlling the combustion process with these tiny tubes, the fuel is able to be burned in pure oxygen, which has the effect of producing pure CO2 and steam.
-
The cetane rating of the fuel is as much as 10 points higher than U.S. diesel.
-
His report is the first to measure the shortfall that some households face in heating their homes, which he calls the fuel poverty gap.
BBC News - Home 2011
-
A study just came out today on the health costs of what they call "fuel poverty", commissioned by the Energy and Climate Change Secretary don't we need one of those?
Forbes.com: News Patrick Michaels 2011
-
It might sound like blasphemy to suggest vacationing without going anywhere, but when the cost of airline tickets or fuel is factored in and the actual hassle of traveling — especially if you have young kids — is factored in, planning a staycation starts to look pretty appealing.
-
Expenses rose 7.3%, mostly because of a 40.6% jump in fuel costs.
-
Mr. Kinahan noted this week is full of November housing data that could provide some short-term fuel for Home Depot's stock.
Traders Wager on Home Depot and Norfolk Chris Dieterich 2011
-
The thermobaric weapon, also known as an aerosol bomb or fuel air explosive, is a two-stage munition.
What are thermobaric weapons and how do they work? Virginia Harrison 2022
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.