oil well

noun

: a well from which petroleum is obtained

Examples of oil well in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
For instance, after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August 1990, Iraqi forces placed explosive charges on Kuwaiti oil wells and began detonating them in January 1991. Skip York, The Conversation, 27 June 2025 Everyone sat still, watching the barren landscape outside the window strewn with orange flames leaping from the scaffoldings erected over the oil wells. Amir Ahmadi Arian, The Dial, 10 June 2025 The service sector includes just about anything that doesn’t come out of a factory, farm, mine, or oil well. Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 11 Apr. 2025 The sound of the oil wells, the pressure coming out of the ground, was like working behind a jet turbine. Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for oil well

Word History

First Known Use

1847, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of oil well was in 1847

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Cite this Entry

“Oil well.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oil%20well. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

oil well

noun
: a well from which petroleum is obtained

More from Merriam-Webster on oil well

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