oiler
oiler — noun
1. someone whose job is to put oil onto the moving parts of engines, machines, or o
someone whose job is to put oil onto the moving parts of engines, machines, or other equipment so that they keep working smoothly.
Marcus worked as an oiler in the ship's engine room for nearly twelve years.
work as an oiler (job title)
The factory hired two oilers to keep the spinning machines running through the night shift.
Lina trained as an oiler before moving on to become a chief engineer.
Each oiler carried a small can and a rag to wipe the gears clean.
The old oiler at the railway yard knew every valve on the steam locomotive by touch.
- lubricator
more formal; can refer to either a person or a device, so context matters.
- greaser
informal; sometimes pejorative outside engineering contexts.
用法筆記
Subject is usually a person treated as a junior or specialist member of an engineering crew, especially on ships, in factories, or on the railways. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense always refers to a person, never to a tool.
常見錯誤
2. a small container or hand tool, often with a long thin spout, that holds oil and
a small container or hand tool, often with a long thin spout, that holds oil and is used to drip oil onto squeaky hinges, locks, bicycle chains, and similar parts.
Grandpa kept a brass oiler on the workbench for the squeaky kitchen door.
concrete object on a surface
Maya squeezed a few drops from the oiler onto the rusty bicycle chain.
squeeze [drops] from the oiler
A small oiler with a long, thin spout sat next to the sewing machine.
The mechanic reached for an oiler when the door hinges started to squeak loudly.
- oilcan
the most common everyday word for this small container.
- lubricator
more technical; covers both small hand tools and larger built-in oiling devices.
用法筆記
Subject or object is always an inanimate hand tool, often described by material (brass, copper, plastic) or by spout shape. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense never refers to a person. In everyday speech, many speakers prefer 'oilcan' for the same object.
常見錯誤
3. a large ship, often part of a navy's support fleet, whose main job is to carry f
a large ship, often part of a navy's support fleet, whose main job is to carry fuel oil and pump it across to other ships while they are still at sea.
The fleet oiler met the destroyer two hundred miles off the coast of Okinawa.
fleet oiler (compound)
Sailors on the oiler worked through the storm to keep the carrier topped up with fuel.
The Royal Navy sent a small oiler to refuel the patrol boats near the Falklands.
Two oilers steamed slowly behind the warships, ready to pump fuel across at dawn.
- tanker
broader; any ship carrying liquid cargo, not always for refueling other ships.
- fleet tanker
near-synonym in British naval English for a fleet oiler.
- replenishment ship
more formal; covers ships that resupply fuel, food, and ammunition.
用法筆記
Common in military and shipping writing; often appears in the compound 'fleet oiler'. Distinguish from sense 1 (the person) and sense 2 (the small hand tool): only this sense names a vessel and is usually preceded by 'the' plus a navy or fleet reference.