oil spill

American

noun

an accidental release of oil into a body of water, as from a tanker, offshore drilling rig, or underwater pipeline, often presenting a hazard to marine life and the environment.

Etymology

Origin of oil spill

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The oil spill was detected on Thursday and although the cause is not yet known, the port has told Swedish media it is not linked to the aircraft carrier.

From BBC

According to Curtis, the discovery coincides with 30 years since the Sea Empress oil spill, highlighting how "treacherous" Pembrokeshire waters can be.

From BBC

Before that, he was based in the Journal’s Houston bureau, where he focused on the oil-and-gas industry in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the shale-drilling boom.

From The Wall Street Journal

When gunky black waves began crashing onto the shores of Huntington Beach after last month’s oil spill, Bill Kasper felt as blue as the next surfer.

From Los Angeles Times

They released 1990’s “Blue Sky Mining” with a concert outside Exxon’s headquarters in New York to protest its handling of an oil spill in Alaska.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023