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

While spacecraft-to-spacecraft cryogenic refuelling is yet to be achieved, the ability to refuel storable chemical propellant is still a game-changer. — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 27 Sep. 2026

If that holds up in real-world use, flight schools could squeeze in more than six sorties per aircraft each day, without the downtime of refueling a gas tank. — New Atlas, 25 Sep. 2026

Adding more songs to an album with a deluxe rerelease months later can either refuel the project’s commercial potential or weigh it down with leftovers once deemed inessential. — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026

Birds rely on Chicago as a place to rest and refuel along their journeys of hundreds or thousands of miles across the globe. — Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1811, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for refuel

• cruel
• dual
• duel
• fuel
• gruel
• jewel
• newel
• accrual
• nonfuel
• renewal
• biofuel
• contextual

Kids Definition

refuel

verb

re·​fu·​el (ˈ)rē-ˈfyü-əl 

: to provide with or take on more fuel