crude oil

Noun

crude oil (usually uncountable, plural crude oils)

1. (usually) Unrefined oil; as it is found underground, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons.
   • Further west, in Pembrokeshire, the Esso Petroleum Co. refinery at Milford Haven, opened last November, is designed to berth the world's largest tankers and to process, initially, 4,500,000 tons of crude oil a year.1961 August, “New traffic flows in South Wales”, in Trains Illustrated, page 494
   • A common feedstock, crude oil, is refined into commodities such as gasoline, diesel and propane.2026 August 3, Lydia DePillis, “What Are Companies Getting for All That A.I. Spending?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   Synonyms:

   crude, fossil oil, petroleum, rock oil