fuel

1 of 2

noun

fu·​el ˈfyü(-ə)l How to pronounce fuel (audio)
often attributive
1
a
: a material used to produce heat or power by burning
b
: nutritive material
c
: a material from which atomic energy can be liberated especially in a reactor
2
: a source of sustenance or incentive : reinforcement

fuel

2 of 2

verb

fueled or fuelled; fueling or fuelling

transitive verb

1
: to provide with fuel
2
: support, stimulate
movement is fueled by massive grants-in-aidAllen Schick

intransitive verb

: to take in fuel
often used with up

Examples of fuel in a Sentence

Noun I had the fuel pump replaced on my car. These latest scandals will provide further fuel for his political opponents. These latest accusations will only add fuel to the controversy. The controversy continues to rage, and these latest accusations will only add fuel to the fire. Verb The airplanes were fueled in midair. The criticism she has faced has only fueled her determination to succeed. Inflation was fueled by high prices. The strong economy has fueled the construction of new homes.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The violence has left Haitians in the capital running low on food, fuel and water. Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2024 The longer the disruption persists and the more ships are diverted, the greater the delays in delivering goods, commodities and fuel, which risks driving prices higher. Hanna Ziady, CNN, 8 Mar. 2024 Prices of goods and fuel have skyrocketed, and hospitals have closed. Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 8 Mar. 2024 Daylight Saving Time has its roots in train schedules, but it was put into practice in Europe and the United States to save fuel and power during World War I, according to the US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024 The source of the contamination is believed to be from firefighting foam, which has historically been used for training and fuel fires. Sarah Bowman, The Indianapolis Star, 7 Mar. 2024 Where did daylight saving time come from? Congress passed a law mandating the move to daylight saving time in March 1918, when the U.S. was trying to conserve fuel and energy for the war effort and shifted clocks forward to make use of natural sunlight into the evening. Jireh Deng, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2024 Quebec generally lacks the peat and moss soil of the western provinces that serve as fuel for winter fires. Ian Austen, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2024 Last month, Pittsburgh's Astrobotic Technology gave it a shot, but a fuel leak on the lander cut the mission short and the craft ended up crashing back to Earth. Marcia Dunn The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 24 Feb. 2024
Verb
On a continent better known for left-wing youth activism a la Greta Thunberg, polls show that young Europeans are fueling the growth of the far right from France to Sweden to the Netherlands. Catarina Fernandes Martins, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024 At the Stockton temple, these developments have only fueled the drive for secession. Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2024 The record warmth has left vast areas of the country without typical amounts of snow and ice, fueling a worsening drought in the Midwest and disrupting local economies. Mary Gilbert, CNN, 8 Mar. 2024 The introduction of citrus groves fueled Gilbert’s early economy, beckoning settlers from far and wide in search of prosperity. Lux Butler, The Arizona Republic, 7 Mar. 2024 That’s right: Krier fuels himself to work a fish fry not with fish, but with a sandwich. Sophie Carson, Journal Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2024 Both are ecosystems fueled by chemical energy and not sunlight, where the tiny microbes living in them can turn methane into food. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 6 Mar. 2024 In fact, Ozzie Zehner wrote an article for us way back in the mid-Teens about the— the dirty secret behind your electric car is the coal that fuels it. Stephen Cass, IEEE Spectrum, 6 Mar. 2024 Despite its retrenchment, Shell Hydrogen still operates three heavy-duty hydrogen fueling stations in Southern California. Aarian Marshall, WIRED, 25 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fuel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English fewel, from Anglo-French fuail, feuaile, from Vulgar Latin *focalia, from Latin focus hearth

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1592, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of fuel was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near fuel

Cite this Entry

“Fuel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fuel. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

fuel

1 of 2 noun
fu·​el ˈfyü(-ə)l How to pronounce fuel (audio)
1
a
: a material used to produce heat or power by burning
b
: a material from which atomic energy can be produced especially in a reactor
2
: a source of energy

fuel

2 of 2 verb
fueled or fuelled; fueling or fuelling
: to supply with or take in fuel

More from Merriam-Webster on fuel

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