diesel
/ˈdisəl/ noun, verb
Forms diesels dieseling dieselling dieseled dieselled
- noun A fuel derived from petroleum (or other oils) but heavier than gasoline/petrol. Used to power diesel engines which burn this fuel using the heat produced when air is compressed. “They were chagrined to see that the price of diesel had climbed past six dollars a gallon.”
- noun (countable) A vehicle powered by a diesel engine. “His next truck will be a diesel.”
- noun (cycling, slang) A rider who has an even energy output, without bursts of speed.
- noun (UK, slang) Synonym of snakebite and black.
- noun (slang) A particular cannabis hybrid.
- verb To ignite a substance by using the heat generated by compression.
- verb (automotive) For a spark-ignition internal combustion engine to continue running after the electrical current to the spark plugs has been turned off. This occurs when there's enough heat in the combustion chamber to ignite the air and fuel mixture without a spark, the same way that heat and pressure cause ignition in a diesel engine. “The only reason the VW bug has a solenoid is to prevent it from dieseling.”
Synonyms
diesel fuel DFO snakebite and black Rudolf Diesel Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel diesel engine diesel motor
Etymology
From German Diesel, named after inventor Rudolf Diesel, who developed a heavy-duty engine in Germany (1892–1897) and perfected it throughout his life.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “diesel”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details