The AI-powered English dictionary
plural oilers
One who or that which oils.
An assistant in the engine room of a ship, senior only to a wiper, mainly responsible for keeping machinery lubricated. examples
(nautical) An oil tanker. examples
An oil well. examples
(firearms) A small (typically thumb-sized) metal container of oil, often containing an integral brush. examples
(informal) An oilskin coat. examples
(US, ethnic slur) A Mexican. quotations examples
There were a lot of renegades down towards the Mexican line who made a raid once in a while, and a few oilers livin' near had water holes in the foothills, […]
1907, Stewart Edward White, chapter 4, in Arizona Nights
(slang, derogatory) A sycophant. quotations
He also said that it was just as difficult to make friends at Cheam School and at Cambridge because he couldn't be sure who 'genuinely liked him' and who were 'trying to suck up' to him because of who he was — 'oilers', Princess Diana once called such people.
2007, Mike Donaldson, Scott Poynting, Ruling Class Men: Money, Sex, Power (page 36)