diesel

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.

(countable) A vehicle powered by a diesel engine.

(cycling, slang) A rider who has an even energy output, without bursts of speed.

(slang) A particular cannabis hybrid.

(UK, slang) Synonym of snakebite and black.

Ellipsis of diesel engine. [(mechanical engineering) An internal combustion engine of piston engine type that operates using the Diesel cycle, with diesel fuel being sprayed into the hot, high-pressure air in the combustion chamber at the end of the compression stroke.]

verb

To ignite a substance by using the heat generated by compression.

(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.

Roots

dieseldiesel- · Eponym · from Rudolf Diesel

Synonyms & related words for diesel

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of diesel. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to diesel

Explore words related to diesel — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include dieselize, derv, petrol, gasoline, fuel, gasohol, engines, engined. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Where does diesel come from?

The word diesel breaks down into one root of Eponym origin: the root diesel-, from Eponym diesel (“from Rudolf Diesel”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.