lubricant

noun

lu·bri·cant | \ ˈlü-bri-kənt

Definition of lubricant

1 : a substance (such as grease) capable of reducing friction, heat, and wear when introduced as a film between solid surfaces

2 : something that lessens or prevents friction or difficulty a social lubricant

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Examples of lubricant in a Sentence

The car's axles need more lubricant. using humor as a social lubricant

Recent Examples on the Web

Products covered by Wednesday’s exemptions include lubricants, insecticides and whey and fish meal for animal feed. — Washington Post, "China keeps penalties on US pork, soy, eases some others," 12 Sep. 2019 Instead of using shims or lubricants to decouple the pad from the caliper, stick the backing plate to the piston or caliper housing, effectively making its mass far larger. — Mike Allen, Popular Mechanics, "How to Fix Squeaky Brakes," 14 Mar. 2019 Behind the scenes, the raceway is working to recapture used oil, cleaning solvents, fluids and lubricants and re-refine them for further use. — Elena Shao, SFChronicle.com, "Car racing doesn’t sound eco-friendly, but Sonoma Raceway wants to change that," 26 July 2019 There are tubes, lubricant, tools and various other equipment to get you back on the road. — Lisa Herendeen, The Mercury News, "10 awesome Burning Man things to do on Day 7, Aug. 31," 5 Aug. 2019 These include vaginal moisturizers and lubricants, topical estrogen, medication targeting the pain and discomfort, estrogen therapy, and vaginal dilators. — Jenna Birch, Woman's Day, "Bleeding After Menopause Should Never Be Ignored — Here's Why," 31 July 2019 And then there's the question of sediments as lubricants. — Ben Horton, National Geographic, "What jumpstarted Earth's plate tectonics? New clues point to ancient glaciers.," 5 June 2019 This month, port engineers de-rated the load capacity of the Terminal 1 dock adjacent to petroleum, oil and lubricant dock No. 1 because of earthquake damage, according to Jager. — Author: Elwood Brehmer, Anchorage Daily News, "Discovery of more earthquake damage adds to troubles at Port of Alaska," 17 July 2019 Clio will release a clitoral stimulator as part of its August expansion, along with a mini personal massager, cleaning wipes and a lubricant. — Katie Van Syckle, New York Times, "The Man Who’s Putting More Sex Toys on Walmart’s Shelves," 3 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lubricant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Statistics for lubricant

Last Updated

17 Sep 2019

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Time Traveler for lubricant

The first known use of lubricant was circa 1828

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More Definitions for lubricant

lubricant

noun

English Language Learners Definition of lubricant

: a substance (such as grease or oil) that causes something (such as a machine part) to be slippery and to move more smoothly

: something that makes it easier for people to work or talk with each other

See the full definition for lubricant in the English Language Learners Dictionary

lubricant

noun

lu·bri·cant | \ ˈlü-bri-kənt

Kids Definition of lubricant

: something (as oil or grease) that makes a surface smooth or slippery

lubricant

adjective

lu·bri·cant | \ ˈlü-bri-kənt

Medical Definition of lubricant

(Entry 1 of 2)

: serving to lubricate a surface or part

lubricant

noun

Medical Definition of lubricant (Entry 2 of 2)

: a substance that serves to lubricate a surface or part normally, the intestinal passage requires no artificial lubricant— E. B. Steen & Ashley Montagu