fuel

From Middle English fewell, from Old French fouaille, feuaille, from feu (“fire”). Cognate with Spanish fuego (“fire”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈfjuːəl/
  • (US) IPA^(key): [ˈfjuw əɫ] (some speakers)

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ʊəl

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:

     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!

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.
2. To exacerbate, to cause to grow or become greater.

• Fuelled and fuelling are British, Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian spellings. Fueled and fueling are U.S. spellings.

• flue, fule

From English

• IPA^(key): /fjul/

fuel m (plural fuels)

1. heating oil

• fioul

• “fuel” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

fuel

1. Alternative form of fewell

fuel m (plural fueles)

1. fuel oil