noun / verb
fuel
FYOO-uhl/ˈfjuːəl/
Material supplied to sustain energy-producing activity.
Dry logs and coal provide fuel for the small stove fire.
Etymology
The pieces point to something belonging to the hearth: the Latin expression came to mean brushwood for burning. That concrete hearth material underlies the broader sense of material used to produce energy.
In context
or gasoline for their greater energy density. And now you have a problem. Several actually. First, how do you deliver fuel to where it needs to be burned?
More examples
- Several cleaner fuels are available for city buses.
- A balanced breakfast fuels your body for the morning.
- Unanswered questions fuel the growing debate.
Forms
fuel · fuels · fueled · fueling
Similar words
- combustible
- Specifically means material that can burn, not every energy source.
- propellant
- Produces thrust or motion rather than supplying energy generally.