diesel

noun

1. 1

   A fuel derived from petroleum (or other oils) but heavier than gasoline/petrol. Used to power diesel engines which burn this fuel using the heat produced when air is compressed.

   They were chagrined to see that the price of diesel had climbed past six dollars a gallon.

2. 2

   A vehicle powered by a diesel engine.

   His next truck will be a diesel.

   A group of overalled men at one of the dozen stained crueted tables looked up briefly as they came in and then resumed their low conversation. Relief crews for the Diesels, Bond guessed.

   1959, Steam's Finest Hour, edited by David P. Morgan, Kalmbach Publishing Co., referring to Mexico's last new steam locomotives. Their effective service life was cut short by an almost simultaneous switch to diesels - a circumstance shared with many an engine north of the border.

3. 3

   slangA rider who has an even energy output, without bursts of speed.

4. 4

   slangSynonym of snakebite and black.

5. 5

   slangA particular cannabis hybrid.

6. 6

   Variant of diesel engineEllipsis of diesel engine.

   Their next engine design will be a diesel.

   Thumbed a diesel down, outside a cafe.

verb

1. 1

   To ignite a substance by using the heat generated by compression.

2. 2

   For a spark-ignition internal combustion engine to continue running after the electrical current to the spark plugs has been turned off. This occurs when there's enough heat in the combustion chamber to ignite the air and fuel mixture without a spark, the same way that heat and pressure cause ignition in a diesel engine.

   The only reason the VW bug has a solenoid is to prevent it from dieseling.

Forms

plural

diesels

past tense

dieseled, dieselled

past participle

dieseled, dieselled

present participle

dieseling, dieselling

third person singular

diesels