refuel

verb

re·​fu·​el (ˌ)rē-ˈfyü(-ə)l 

refueled; refueling; refuels

transitive verb

: to provide with additional fuel

intransitive verb

: to take on additional fuel

Examples of refuel in a Sentence

The crew refueled the airplane.

The airplane landed to refuel.

Recent Examples on the Web

Most researchers continue to believe that Earhart and Noonan ran out of fuel on a 2,500-mile leg of their journey between Papua New Guinea and Howland Island, where they were expected to stop to refuel before continuing east. —Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 17 Nov. 2025

The plane refueled near Doha, Qatar. —Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Nov. 2025

From there, refuel and recharge in nearby Lubec and Eastport. —Zand B. Martin, Outside, 11 Nov. 2025

The deal cut by some Senate Democrats to reopen government has refueled the party’s tussle over strategy and identity just days after sweeping election victories had raised hopes that the left’s disparate factions were pulling in the same direction heading into the 2026 midterms. —Fortune, 11 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1811, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for refuel

• accrual
• nonfuel
• renewal
• biofuel
• contextual
• nonrenewal
• nonsexual
• unusual
• cruel
• dual
• duel
• fuel

Kids Definition

refuel

verb

re·​fu·​el (ˈ)rē-ˈfyü-əl 

: to provide with or take on more fuel