grease

English

Etymology

From Middle English grece (“grease”), from Anglo-Norman grece, from Old French graisse, from Vulgar Latin *grassia, from Latin crassus (“fat, thick”). Doublet of crass.

Pronunciation

Noun

• (General American) enPR: grēs, IPA^(key): /ɡɹis/
• (UK) enPR: grēs, IPA^(key): /ɡɹiːs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːs
• Homophone: Greece

Verb

• (UK) enPR: grēs, IPA^(key): /ɡɹiːs/
• (General American) enPR: grēs, grēz, IPA^(key): /ɡɹis/, /ɡɹiz/
• Rhymes: -iːs (UK, US)
• Rhymes: -iːz (US)

Noun

grease (countable and uncountable, plural greases)

1. Animal fat in a melted or soft state.
2. (by extension) Any oily or fatty matter.
3. Shorn but not yet cleansed wool.
4. Inflammation of a horse's heels, also known as scratches or pastern dermatitis.
5. (slang) Money.
   • 1982, Stephen King, Survivor Type:

     Some of the people I talked to said it could be done—but it would cost big money. More grease than I’d ever dreamed of.

Synonyms

• (animal fat): fat, lard

Derived terms

• amber grease
• amber-grease
• bear's grease
• boot-grease
• cow grease
• cow's grease
• dielectric grease
• dirty grease
• elbow grease
• elbow-grease
• golden grease
• greaseball
• grease-box
• grease boy
• grease bush
• grease gun / grease-gun
• grease money
• grease-monkey
• grease monkey
• grease moth
• grease nipple
• greasepaint / grease-paint
• grease payment
• grease pencil
• grease pit
• greaseproof
• grease spot
• grease the skids
• grease up
• greasewood
• greasiness
• greasy
• hart of grease
• like grease through a goose
• stew in one's own grease
• thermal grease
• the squeaky wheel gets the grease
• wool grease
• yellow grease
• Yorkshire grease

 

Translations

animal fat

• Albanian: yndyrë (sq) f
• Arabic: شَحْم m (šaḥm)
• Armenian: ճարպ (hy) (čarp)
• Basque: gantz
• Belarusian: тлушч m (tlušč), жыр m (žyr)
• Bulgarian: мас (bg) f (mas), мазнина́ (bg) f (mazniná)
• Catalan: greix (ca)
• Cherokee: ᎪᎢ (goi)
• Cheyenne: amėške
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 油脂 (zh) (yóuzhī), 脂肪 (zh) (zhīfáng)

• Czech: tuk (cs) m
• Dutch: vet (nl) n, smeer (nl) n
• Esperanto: graso (eo)
• Estonian: rasv (et)
• Finnish: eläinrasva (fi)
• French: graisse (fr) f
• Galician: graxa (gl) f, enxunlla f, sebo m, lardo (gl) m, morca f, saín (gl)
• Georgian: ქონი (koni), ცხიმი (cximi)
• German: Fett (de) n
• Greek: please add this translation if you can
• Hausa: mai
• Hebrew: שֶׁמֶן (he) m (shémen)
• Hindi: चरबी (hi) f (carbī)
• Hungarian: zsír (hu)
• Ido: graso (io)
• Indonesian: lemak (id)
• Italian: grasso (it) m
• Japanese: 脂肪 (ja) (しぼう, shibō)
• Khmer: ខ្លាញ់ (km) (khlañ)
• Korean: 기름 (ko) (gireum), 유지(油脂) (ko) (yuji), 지방(脂肪) (ko) (jibang)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: don (ku)

• Latin: arvīna f, unguen n, pingue n
• Latvian: tauki (lv) m pl
• Lithuanian: taukai m pl, riebalai m pl
• Macedonian: маст f (mast), сало n (salo)
• Malay: minyak (ms), gris, lemak (ms)
• Maltese: please add this translation if you can
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: өөх (mn) (ööx)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: smørefett n (lubricant), fett (no) n

• Occitan: grais (oc)
• Odia: please add this translation if you can
• Ojibwe: bimide
• Old Turkic: 𐰖𐰍 (yaɣ)
• Ottoman Turkish: یاغ (yağ)
• Polish: tłuszcz (pl) m
• Portuguese: gordura (pt) f, graxa (pt) f
• Romagnol: graṣ m
• Romanian: grăsime (ro) f
• Russian: са́ло (ru) n (sálo), жир (ru) m (žir), ма́сло (ru) n (máslo), сма́лец (ru) m (smálec)
• Scottish Gaelic: saill f
• Slovak: tuk m
• Spanish: grasa (es) f
• Swahili: grisi (sw)
• Swedish: fett (sv) n, flott (sv) n, ister (sv) n
• Tagalog: grasa
• Tamil: கொழுப்பு (ta) (koḻuppu)
• Tarifit: tadunt f
• Telugu: కందెన (te) (kandena)
• Thai: มัน (th) (man)
• Tocharian B: ṣmare
• Tok Pisin: gris
• Turkish: yağ (tr)
• Ukrainian: жир m (žyr), са́ло (uk) n (sálo), лій (uk) m (lij)
• Urdu: چربی f (carbī)
• Vietnamese: mỡ (vi)
• Welsh: saim (cy) m
• Yiddish: בוימל m (boyml), שמאַלץ n or f (shmalts)
• Zulu: amafutha

oily or fatty matter

• Apache:

  Western Apache: biʼikʼah

• Arabic: شَحْم m (šaḥm)
• Armenian: քսուք (hy) (kʻsukʻ)
• Belarusian: зма́зка n (zmázka)
• Bole: giris
• Bulgarian: ма́сло (bg) n (máslo), сма́зка (bg) f (smázka)
• Cherokee: ᎪᎢ (goi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 潤滑油／润滑油 (zh) (rùnhuáyóu), 潤滑脂／润滑脂 (zh) (rùnhuázhī)

• Dutch: vet (nl) n, olie (nl)
• Estonian: rasv (et), määrdeaine
• Finnish: rasva (fi), öljy (fi)
• French: graisse (fr) f
• Galician: graxa (gl) f
• German: Schmierfett n, Schmiere (de) f
• Hausa: giris (ha), mai
• Hebrew: שֻׁמָּן (he) m (shumán), שֶׁמֶן (he) m (shémen)
• Hindi: ग्रीस (hi) f (grīs), ग्रीज (hi) f (grīj), ग्रीज़ f (grīz)
• Indonesian: jelantah (id)
• Irish: bealadh m
• Japanese: グリース (gurīsu) (lubricant), 潤滑油 (ja) (じゅんかつゆ, junkatsuyu)
• Korean: 윤활유(潤滑油) (yunhwaryu)
• Latvian: smērviela f
• Lithuanian: tepalas m
• Macedonian: маснотија f (masnotija)
• Malay: minyak (ms)
• Ottoman Turkish: یاغ (yağ)
• Persian: گریس (fa) (geris)
• Polish: smar (pl) m
• Portuguese: graxa (pt) f
• Russian: сма́зка (ru) f (smázka) (lubricant), мазь (ru) f (mazʹ) (ointment)
• Spanish: grasa (es) f
• Swahili: grisi (sw)
• Tagalog: grasa
• Tarifit: tadunt f
• Thai: จาระบี (th) (jaa-rá-bii)
• Tok Pisin: gris
• Ukrainian: масти́ло (uk) n (mastýlo), мази́ло n (mazýlo), мазь f (mazʹ)
• Yiddish: שמאַלץ n or f (shmalts)

shorn but not yet cleansed wool

• Bulgarian: непра́на вълна́ f (neprána vǎlná)
• Finnish: raakavilla

inflammation of a horse's heels

• Finnish: kurarupi

Verb

grease (third-person singular simple present greases, present participle greasing, simple past and past participle greased)

1. (transitive) To put grease or fat on something, especially in order to lubricate.
2. (transitive, informal) To bribe.
   • 1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The Third Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: Printed for Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC:

     the greas'd advocate that grinds the poor

   • 2008, Byron Archibald Dunn, With Lyon in Missouri:

     Then you remember we greased him to the tune of five hundred.

   • 2009, Dan Richardson, GOG - an End Time Mystery:

     His employee status didn't entitle him to one, but Magdy on reception would slip him a key if Sabr greased him with a fifty.

3. (transitive, informal) To cause to go easily; to facilitate.
4. (transitive, slang, aviation) To perform a landing extraordinarily smoothly.

   To my amazement, I greased the landing despite the tricky crosswinds.

5. (transitive, slang) To extinguish the life of.

   Synonyms: wax, wet, baptize, juice up; see also Thesaurus:kill

6. (transitive, slang) To have sexual intercourse with.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:copulate

   • 2022 November 22, BLP Kosher (lyrics and music), “Chopping Block” (track 3, 1:31 from the start), in BLP Kosher and The Magic Dreidel‎^[1]:

     I’m with a girl, call me Rick, I get my crank on
     Choppa knock him out his briefs, ayy free willy
     He a blood, why the fuck I’m greasin his bitty

7. (obsolete) To cheat or cozen; to overreach.
   • 1616–1619 (first performance), John Fletcher, “The Mad Lover”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     You have greased him / For chewing love again in haste

8. To affect (a horse) with grease, the disease.

Synonyms

• (put grease or fat on): lard
• (slang for kill or murder): bump off, hit, whack

Derived terms

Terms derived from grease (verb)

• greaser
• grease one's gills
• grease the hand
• grease the wheels
• grease someone's palm

Translations

put grease or fat on something

• Bulgarian: смазвам (bg) (smazvam)
• Catalan: greixar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: namazat pf, promazat pf, potřít pf, vymastit pf
• Dutch: smeren (nl), invetten (nl)
• Finnish: rasvata (fi), öljytä (fi), voidella (fi)
• French: ^{(please verify)} graisser (fr)
• Friulian: onzi, ongi
• Georgian: გაქონავს (gakonavs), გაზეთავს (gazetavs)
• German: schmieren (de)
• Greek: γρασάρω (el) (grasáro)
• Hungarian: zsíroz (hu), olajoz (hu)
• Irish: bealaigh
• Latin: lūbricō
• Macedonian: замастува (zamastuva), намастува (namastuva), подмачкува (podmačkuva)
• Mongolian: тослох (mn) (toslox)
• Ottoman Turkish: یاغلامق (yağlamak)
• Portuguese: engraxar (pt), untar (pt)
• Romanian: unge (ro)
• Russian: смазать (ru) pf (smazatʹ), смазывать (ru) impf (smazyvatʹ)
• Spanish: engrasar (es)
• Swedish: smörja (sv)
• Tagalog: grasahan
• Tok Pisin: grisim
• Ukrainian: зма́щувати impf (zmáščuvaty), змасти́ти pf (zmastýty)
• Yiddish: שמירן (shmirn)

to bribe

• Azerbaijani: yağlamaq (az)
• Bulgarian: подкупвам (bg) (podkupvam)
• Dutch: smeren (nl), omkopen (nl)
• Finnish: voidella (fi), lahjoa (fi)
• French: graisser la patte (fr), corrompre (fr)
• German: schmieren (de), bestechen (de)
• Hungarian: megveszteget (hu), megken (hu)
• Russian: подма́зать (ru) pf (podmázatʹ), подма́зывать (ru) impf (podmázyvatʹ), подма́слить (ru) pf (podmáslitʹ), подма́сливать (ru) impf (podmáslivatʹ)
• Yiddish: שמירן (shmirn)

to perform a landing extraordinarily smoothly

• Finnish: laskeutua todella pehmeästi
• French: lubrifier (fr)

to kill

• Finnish: voidella (fi)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} engrasar (es), ^{(please verify)} lubricar (es)

Anagrams

• Eagers, Saeger, Seager, aegers, agrees, eagers, eagres, geares, searge, ægers