diesel
Pluraldiesels (some meanings)
Pluraldiesels (some meanings)
Formsdiesels
- 1A fuel made from oil, heavier than gasoline, that is burned in diesel engines.
The truck driver stopped to fill up with diesel.
Diesel costs more than gasoline at this station.
UsageUsually no a before it: fill up with diesel, run on diesel.
Note
- 2Short for diesel engine. People often say just diesel for the engine.
The boat has a small diesel that is easy to fix.
This tractor model comes with either a gasoline engine or a diesel.
UsageA diesel is an engine or a vehicle. Diesel with no a is usually the fuel.
- 3A vehicle, like a truck or a train, with a diesel engine.
My uncle drives a diesel because it goes far on one tank.
The old steam trains were replaced by diesels.
Less common meanings
- 4Of an engine with spark plugs: to keep running after it is turned off, because heat lights the fuel.
My old car would diesel for a few seconds after I took out the key.
The lawn mower kept dieseling even after I switched it off.
UsageSay the engine kept dieseling.
Note
- 5One kind of cannabis that comes from mixing two different kinds.
- 6To make something catch fire with heat made by squeezing, not with a flame or spark.
- 7A bike rider who keeps up a steady effort rather than using sudden bursts of speed.
- 8Another name for snakebite and black, a kind of drink.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of diesel apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
Named after Rudolf Diesel, the German inventor who developed this kind of engine.