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lubricant

UK/ˈluːbɹɪkənt/US/ˈlubɹəkənt/
nounB2+Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #9,608 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: lubricants

A lubricant is a slippery substance that stops parts wearing. Apply a lubricant, a dry lubricant, the lubricant broke down.

It works by keeping a film between two surfaces so they never touch, and the film failing is what destroys an engine rather than the heat itself. Graphite and certain plastics work as dry lubricants where oil would attract dirt.

Santeri Viinamäki · CC BY-SA 4.0

Definitions of lubricant

  1. 1nounlubricantA slippery substance that stops parts wearing.B2+

    “He sprayed some lubricant on the rusty hinge to stop it squeaking.”

lubricant is a substance.

Where it comes from

  1. Proto-Indo-European

    *slewbʰ- — slip, slide

  2. Latin

    lūbricātus

  3. English

    lubricate

  4. English, today

    lubricant

Built from

  • lūbricō · Latin — make slippery
  • lūbricus · Latin — slippery

From lubricate + -ant. lubricate Borrowed from Latin lūbricātus, perfect passive participle of lūbricō (“make slippery”) (see -ate for more), from lūbricus (“slippery”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European slewbʰ- (“slip, slide”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Materials & Substances

Practise this word

lubricant in the wild

  • Synthetic oil is a lubricant consisting of chemical compounds that are artificially modified or synthesised.

    Synthetic oil

  • Drops containing only saline and sometimes a lubricant are often used as artificial tears to treat dry eyes or simple eye irritation such as itching or redness.

    Eye drop

  • The close fitting of the apertures ensures that lubricant is applied only where needed.

    Grease gun

  • The grease gun is charged or loaded with any of the various types of lubricants, but usually a thicker heavier type of grease is used.

    Grease gun

  • K-Y Jelly was initially used as a surgical lubricant before it gained popularity as a personal lubricant.

    Surgical lubricant

1 / 2

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the lūbricō family

lubricantlubricate

lubricant — used about once every 4,818 pages · #9,608 · point at the bar for the others