oiler meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

oiler

noun

US /ˈɔɪlɚ/ · UK /ˈɔɪlə/

Etymology From Middle English oyler, equivalent to oil + -er.

10 senses

› One who or that which oils.

An assistant in the engine room of a ship, senior only to a wiper, mainly responsible for keeping machinery lubricated.

Any of various automatic devices for oiling pneumatic tools or other tools.

The order to rename the oiler ship USNS Harvey Milk – christened four years ago – is unusual but is in line with the White House mandate to reverse a number of military initiatives by Democratic presidents.2025 June 4, Andy Rose, “Gay rights icon Harvey Milk’s legacy slighted by decision to rename Navy ship”, in CNN:

Synonym of oilcan.

Engineering, Firearms, Government, Military, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Politics, Tools, War, Weaponry A small (typically thumb-sized) metal container of oil, often containing an integral brush.

Synonym of oil well.

Informal An oilskin coat.

US, Ethnic, Slur A Mexican.

Near-synonym: greaser
There were a lot of renegades down towards the Mexican line who made a raid once in a while, and a few oilers livin' near had water holes in the foothills, […]1907, Stewart Edward White, chapter 4, in Arizona Nights:

Derogatory, Slang A sycophant, which is someone who is oily (smarmy).

He also said that it was just as difficult to make friends at Cheam School and at Cambridge because he couldn't be sure who 'genuinely liked him' and who were 'trying to suck up' to him because of who he was — 'oilers', Princess Diana once called such people.2007, Mike Donaldson, Scott Poynting, Ruling Class Men: Money, Sex, Power, page 36:

Slang A heavy drinker; especially, an alcoholic.