oil well

noun

: a well from which petroleum is obtained

Examples of oil well in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Sometimes when new oil wells get drilled, the owners opt to burn off relatively small amounts of natural gas rather than go to the expense of hooking up a pipeline. Christopher Helman, Forbes.com, 10 Apr. 2025 Anne Epstein, a Lubbock physician, was part of a successful effort to ban oil wells less than 600 feet from peoples’ homes — before the state passed legislation stripping cities of the authority to regulate fracking. Saul Elbein, The Hill, 17 Mar. 2025 It should be noted here that a study of oil-rich states, such as Texas, has shown that local tax revenue to counties from oil wells would not be replaceable by renewables like wind and solar. Ian Dexter Palmer, Forbes, 27 Oct. 2024 September Dawn Bottoms for NPR A century ago, in one small patch of Oklahoma, Texaco drilled an oil well. Camila Domonoske, NPR, 26 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for oil well

Word History

First Known Use

1847, in the meaning defined above

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

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Cite this Entry

“Oil well.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oil%20well. Accessed 3 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

oil well

noun
: a well from which petroleum is obtained

More from Merriam-Webster on oil well

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