Wiktionary

fuel

See also: fül

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

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From Middle English fewell, from Old French fouaille, feuaille (“firewood, kindling”), from feu (“fire”), from Late Latin focus (“fire”), from Latin focus (“hearth”). Cognate with Spanish fuego (“fire”), and Portuguese fogo (“fire”). Doublet of focus.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈfjuːəl/, /ˈfjʊəl/, /ˈfjuːl/, /ˈfɪu̯(ə)l/
    • (US) IPA(key): [ˈfjuwəɫ] (some speakers)
    • Audio (UK):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ʊəl

Noun

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fuel (countable and uncountable, plural fuels)

  1. Substance consumed to provide energy through combustion, or through chemical or nuclear reaction.
    • 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 2, in Internal Combustion‎[1]:
      More than a mere source of Promethean sustenance to thwart the cold and cook one's meat, wood was quite simply mankind's first industrial and manufacturing fuel.
  2. Substance that provides nourishment for a living organism; food.
  3. (figuratively) Something that stimulates, encourages or maintains an action.
    His books were fuel for the revolution.
    Money is the fuel for economy.
    That film was nightmare fuel!
    • 2006 June 15, “Ammunition: the fuel of conflict”, in Oxfam International‎[2]:
      Small arms ammunition is the fuel that keeps many of the world’s conflicts raging.

Derived terms

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Terms derived from fuel

Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Verb

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fuel (third-person singular simple present fuels, present participle (US) fueling or fuelling, simple past and past participle (US) fueled or fuelled)

  1. To provide with fuel.
    • 1959 May, “Talking of Trains: By diesel m.u. to Moorgate”, in Trains Illustrated, page 235:
      The workings now employ ten twin-units, which are fuelled at Hornsey but return to Cambridge diesel depot for their weekly maintenance; [...].
  2. To exacerbate, to cause to grow or become greater.

Usage notes

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  • Fuelled and fuelling are Commonwealth spellings. Fueled and fueling are US spellings and common in Canada.

Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Anagrams

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French

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Etymology

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Unadapted borrowing from English fuel, itself from Old French fouaille.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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fuel m (plural fuels)

  1. Alternative form of fioul

Further reading

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Middle English

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Noun

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fuel

  1. Alternative form of fewell

Spanish

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English fuel.

Noun

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fuel m (plural fueles)

  1. fuel oil

Further reading

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