shale oil

noun

: a crude dark oil obtained from oil shale by heating

Examples of shale oil in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

If this basin is not developed, one of Latin America’s premier shale oil plays will be lost. — Ian Dexter Palmer, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2026

The shale oil boom was revolutionized in part by drilling vertically and then horizontally to dig deeper into the subsurface and crack open more shale rock to release the liquids inside. — Jordan Blum, Fortune, 9 Aug. 2026

The parallels between their data center land grab now and the shale oil boom-and-bust cycle of the 2010s are striking to longtime commodities analyst Jeff Currie, who is now at Carlyle. — Kelly Evans, CNBC, 24 Feb. 2026

Smith’s vision reminded me a bit of my time during the shale oil boom driving around the Permian Basin, the region of West Texas and New Mexico home to a resurgent oil and gas industry. — Justin Worland, Time, 16 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1857, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for shale oil

• aerofoil
• cinquefoil
• hydrofoil
• quatrefoil
• airfoil
• benzoyl
• despoil
• embroil
• etoile
• gargoyle
• recoil
• subsoil