FOSSIL FUEL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does fossil fuel mean? 

• FOSSIL FUEL (noun)
  The noun FOSSIL FUEL has 1 sense:

1. fuel consisting of the remains of organisms preserved in rocks in the earth's crust with high carbon and hydrogen content

  Familiarity information: FOSSIL FUEL used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FOSSIL FUEL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Fuel consisting of the remains of organisms preserved in rocks in the earth's crust with high carbon and hydrogen content

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("fossil fuel" is a kind of...):

fuel (a substance that can be consumed to produce energy)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fossil fuel"):

coal (fossil fuel consisting of carbonized vegetable matter deposited in the Carboniferous period)

gas; natural gas (a fossil fuel in the gaseous state; used for cooking and heating homes)

crude; crude oil; fossil oil; oil; petroleum; rock oil (a dark oil consisting mainly of hydrocarbons)

 Context examples 

Lead is a naturally occurring toxic metal, but sources of lead exposure are often due to human activities, including burning fossil fuels, mining, and manufacturing.

(Lead in kids’ blood linked with behavioral and emotional problems, NIH)

It says other measures for reducing the toxic impact of air pollution include moving away from fossil fuels.

(WAir Pollution a Health Risk for Children, Lisa Schlein/VOA)

The research also indicates DBC levels from fossil fuel traces have increased in the past 25 years, but these concentrations are small in comparison to those associated with wildfires from more than 1,000 years ago.

(Antarctic lakes are a repository for ancient soot, NSF)

Particulate matter comes from a range of sources, including the burning of fossil fuels in vehicles and power plants.

(Aspirin Could Cut Air Pollution Harms, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The family of hydrocarbons already has hundreds of thousands of members, identified from plants and fossil fuels on Earth, and more could exist.

(Experiments recreate aromatic flavors of Titan, NASA)

Sugarcane is used to produce bioethanol and therefore already contributes to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.

(Method that cuts sugarcane emissions gets global prize, SciDev.Net)

The Rutgers University-led and NSF-funded discovery could lead to more efficient and affordable algae-based biofuels and combat climate change from fossil fuel burning.

(Scientists discover key factors in how some algae harness solar energy, National Science Foundation)

But ozone, a noxious chemical byproduct of fossil fuel combustion, has received relatively little attention as a potential threat to corn agriculture.

(Study finds rising ozone a hidden threat to corn, National Science Foundation)

It is ubiquitous in the environment as a product of incomplete combustion of fossil fuels.

(Anthracene, NCI Thesaurus)

Dibenzo[a,e]pyrene is primarily found in coal gasification products, cigarette smoke and fossil fuels.

(Dibenzo (a,l) pyrene, NCI Thesaurus)