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

For existing light water reactors, LEU+ means plants can run much longer between refueling shutdowns, cutting maintenance costs and keeping reliable zero-carbon electricity flowing to the grid with fewer interruptions. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 4 Nov. 2026

Swift’s loss points to a new hazard for the young industry that repairs, refuels and moves spacecraft around in orbit. — Wanjiku Chebet Kanjumba, The Conversation, 4 Nov. 2026

Spend an afternoon browsing French antiques at Red Chair on Warren or furniture and home decor at Finch, then refuel with a latte at Moto Coffee/Machine or Supernatural Coffee. — Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 1 Nov. 2026

Electric big rigs need to be charged more often than diesel trucks need to be refueled — about once a day compared to once every three or four days. — Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 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