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grease

 - 6 dictionary results
Grease
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grease

  [n. grees; v. grees, greez] noun, verb, greased, greasing.
Use grease in a Sentence
–noun
1. the melted or rendered fat of animals, esp. when in a soft state.
2. fatty or oily matter in general; lubricant.
3. Also called grease wool. wool, as shorn, before being cleansed of the oily matter.
4. Also called grease-heel  [grees-heel] . Veterinary Pathology. inflammation of a horse's skin in the fetlock region, attended with an oily secretion.
5. Informal. a bribe.
–verb (used with object)
6. to put grease on; lubricate: to grease the axle of a car.
7. to smear or cover with grease.
8. to cause to occur easily; smooth the way; facilitate.
9. Informal. to bribe.
—Idiom
10. grease someone's palm. palm 1 (def. 19).
Origin:
1250–1300; ME grese, grece, greice < AF grece, gresse, OF craisse (F graisse) < VL *crassia, equiv. to L crass(us) fat, thick + -ia n. suffix

Related forms:
greaseless, adjective
grease⋅less⋅ness, noun
greaseproof, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To grease
Grease
Hundreds of musicals now available to download & watch on iTunes.
www.apple.com/iTunes
grease   (grēs)   
n.  

  1. Soft or melted animal fat, especially after rendering.

  2. A thick oil or viscous substance, especially when used as a lubricant.

    1. The oily substance present in raw wool; suint.

    2. Raw wool that has not been cleansed of this oily substance.

  4. Slang Something, such as money or influence, that facilitates the attainment of an object or a desire: accepted some grease to fix the outcome of the race.

tr.v.   (grēs, grēz) greased, greas·ing, greas·es

  1. To coat, smear, or soil with grease: greased the pie pan.

  2. To lubricate with grease.

  3. To facilitate the progress of.

  4. Slang To kill. See Regional Note at greasy.


[Middle English grese, from Anglo-Norman grece, from Vulgar Latin *crassia, from Latin crassus, fat, thick.]
grease'less adj., grease'proof' adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
grease

  1. n.
    protection money; bribery money. (See also grease (so's) palm.) : See that the commissioner of the park district gets a little grease to help us get the contract.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

grease 
c.1290, from Anglo-Fr. grece, from O.Fr. graisse, from V.L. *crassia "(melted) animal fat, grease," from L. crassus "thick, solid, fat." Verb sense of "ply with bribe or protection money" is 1526, from notion of grease the wheels "make things run smoothly" (c.1440). To grease (someone's) palm is from 1581. Greasy spoon "small cheap restaurant" is from 1925. Greaser, derogatory Amer.Eng. slang for "native Mexican or Latin American," first attested 1849.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

grease

In addition to the idioms beginning with grease, also see elbow grease; like greased lightning; squeaky wheel gets the grease.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Encyclopedia

grease

thick, oily lubricant consisting of inedible lard, the rendered fat of waste animal parts, or a petroleum-derived or synthetic oil containing a thickening agent

Learn more about grease with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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