oily

adjective

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\ ˈȯi-lē

oilier; oiliest

Definition of oily

1 : of, relating to, or consisting of oil

2a : covered or impregnated with oil oily rags

b : relatively high in naturally secreted oils oily skin oily hair

3 : excessively smooth or suave in manner

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Examples of oily in a Sentence

The liquid has an oily feel. a pile of oily rags The salad dressing was very oily.

Recent Examples on the Web The cause of the fire was determined to be improper disposal of oily rags, according to a statement from the state fire marshal’s office. — Charlie Mckenna, BostonGlobe.com, "Combustion of oily rags caused 3-alarm fire at Lexington home, officials say," 29 Jan. 2021 Another oily mess resulted when stirring the natural oils back into the butter. — cleveland, "What’s the best peanut butter? We ranked 77 jars in blind taste test for National Peanut Butter Day," 24 Jan. 2021 To protect the mRNA, which is highly unstable, vaccine producers pack it within an oily lipid nanoparticle that also facilitates uptake by human cells. — Charles Schmidt, Scientific American, "New COVID Vaccines Need Absurd Amounts of Material and Labor," 4 Jan. 2021 The mRNA is packaged in an oily bubble that can fuse to a cell, allowing the molecule to slip in. — New York Times, "How Taiwan Plans to Stay (Mostly) Covid-Free," 2 Jan. 2021 My skin feels super smooth after using overly oily body scrubs because it's literally coated in oil, not because rough skin and dead cells have been sloughed away. — Marci Robin, Allure, "My New Favorite Body Scrub Leaves My Skin Smooth, Not Oily," 28 Dec. 2020 If the plumber either rules out or clears an oily backup in the homeowner's plumbing system, but the issues continues, that may indicate the backup is on the larger system. — Sarah Bowman, The Indianapolis Star, "Here's how to keep fatty holiday foods from clogging your sewer pipes," 24 Dec. 2020 Many stickers and adhesives can be dissolved with an oily substance, such as vegetable oil, peanut butter, or even mayonnaise. — Kevin Dupzyk And Joseph Truini, Popular Mechanics, "How to Remove Sticker Residue From Any Surface," 24 Nov. 2020 For oily skin, readers also liked La Roche-Posay Effaclar Purifying Foaming Gel Cleanser, as well as Neutrogena Rapid Clear Stubborn Acne Spot Treatment Gel, which contains Benzoyl Peroxide. — Zoe Malin, NBC News, "Skin care bestsellers 2020: Most purchased skin care products we covered," 30 Dec. 2020

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

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