oiler

One who or that which oils.

Noun

  1. One who or that which oils.
    1. An assistant in the engine room of a ship, senior only to a wiper, mainly responsible for keeping machinery lubricated.

    2. Any of various automatic devices for oiling pneumatic tools or other tools.

  2. An oil tanker.
    • The order to rename the oiler ship USNS Harvey Milk – christened four years ago – is unusual but is in line with the White House mandate to reverse a number of military initiatives by Democratic presidents. - 2025 June...

    Hypernyms: ship vessel

    Coordinate Terms: collier coaler

  3. Synonym of oilcan.

    Synonyms: oilcan

    1. (firearms) A small (typically thumb-sized) metal container of oil, often containing an integral brush.

  4. Synonym of oil well.

    Synonyms: oil well

  5. An oilskin coat.
  6. A Mexican.
    • Near-synonym: greaser
    • There were a lot of renegades down towards the Mexican line who made a raid once in a while, and a few oilers livin' near had water holes in the foothills, […] - 1907, Stewart Edward White, chapter 4, in Arizona Nights:

    Synonyms: greaser

  7. A sycophant, which is someone who is oily (smarmy).
    • He also said that it was just as difficult to make friends at Cheam School and at Cambridge because he couldn't be sure who 'genuinely liked him' and who were 'trying to suck up' to him because of who he was — 'oilers',...
  8. A heavy drinker; especially, an alcoholic.

Origin

From Middle English oyler, equivalent to oil + -er.

Forms

oilers

Related

oilman oilwoman

Derived

auxiliary oiler flange oiler