oil well

noun

: a well from which petroleum is obtained

Examples of oil well in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Nemaha County is home to 22 oil wells and in 2022 produced 33,788 barrels of oil, enough to make as much as 675,000 gallons of gasoline. USA TODAY, 4 Feb. 2024 At least two earlier versions of the proposal planned to capture CO2 and inject it inside aging oil wells to flush out more petroleum. Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 14 Jan. 2024 The top satellite image shows a map of dots, which are correctly identified as oil well pads. Reuters, NBC News, 15 Feb. 2024 The two had been working in Nigeria since the 1970s, doing small-time deals in the energy and defense sectors, like fixing tanks and siting oil wells. Jesse Barron, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2024 Anson has been using old oil wells to to explore the amount of lithium in brine, a salty liquid, deep beneath the ground. Associated Press, Quartz, 8 Feb. 2024 Roberta Mann: Carbon dioxide, which can be a byproduct of oil production, can be used to be injected into oil wells to make oil wells productive longer. Tax Notes Staff, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024 How bad are the health consequences of growing up in a home a few hundred feet from an oil well? Jim Newton, The Mercury News, 2 Jan. 2024 California In historic move, Los Angeles bans new oil wells, phases out existing ones Dec. 2, 2022 Finding land trust lenders will be challenging, Gay said, as will plan reviews and significant market changes that could hinder the speed of development. Dorany Pineda, Los Angeles Times, 11 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'oil well.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1847, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of oil well was in 1847

Dictionary Entries Near oil well

Cite this Entry

“Oil well.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oil%20well. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

oil well

noun
: a well from which petroleum is obtained

More from Merriam-Webster on oil well

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