What does "grease" mean?
Animal fat in a melted or soft state.
Grease
/ɡɹis/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Animal fat in a melted or soft state.
- Grammar: grease is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: adulation, aid, animal oil, anoint.
- Useful contrasts: deny, dry, dry out.
- Usage evidence: The machine was clogged with grease.
How to use "grease"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "grease" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "grease" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "grease" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "grease" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "grease" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "adulation" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "grease", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Animal fat in a melted or soft state. countable, uncountable
- 2 anything regarded as making something unclean wordnet
- 3 Any oily or fatty matter. broadly, countable, uncountable
- 4 a thick fatty oil (especially one used to lubricate machinery) wordnet
- 5 Shorn but not yet cleansed wool. countable, uncountable
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Inflammation of a horse's heels, also known as scratches or pastern dermatitis. countable, uncountable
- 7 Money. countable, slang, uncountable
"Some of the people I talked to said it could be done—but it would cost big money. More grease than I’d ever dreamed of."
Verb
- 1 To put grease or fat on something, especially in order to lubricate. transitive
- 2 lubricate with grease wordnet
- 3 To bribe. informal, transitive
"the greas'd advocate that grinds the poor"
- 4 To cause to go easily; to facilitate. informal, transitive
- 5 To perform a landing extraordinarily smoothly. slang, transitive
"To my amazement, I greased the landing despite the tricky crosswinds."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 To extinguish the life of. slang, transitive
- 7 To have sexual intercourse with. slang, transitive
"I’m with a girl, call me Rick, I get my crank on Choppa knock him out his briefs, ayy free willy He a blood, why the fuck I’m greasin his bitty"
- 8 To cheat or cozen; to overreach. obsolete
"You have greased him / For chewing love again in haste"
- 9 To affect (a horse) with grease, the disease.
- 10 To depart or slip away.
Example
"The machine was clogged with grease."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "grease"?
Common synonyms include: adulation, aid, animal oil, anoint, approach, assist.
How do you use "grease" in a sentence?
The machine was clogged with grease.
How do you pronounce "grease"?
Pronounced /ɡɹis/.
Etymology
From Middle English grece, from Anglo-Norman grece, from Vulgar Latin *grassia, noun derived from Latin crassus (“fat, thick”). Doublet of crass.