From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishgreasegrease1 /ɡriːs/ noun [uncountable] 1 DFCa fatty or oily substance that comes off meat when it is cooked, or off food made using butter or oil2 TDa thick oily substance that is put on the moving parts of a car, machine etc to make it run or move smoothly3 an oily substance that is produced by your skin → elbow grease at elbow1(3)
Examples from the Corpus
grease• Class B for flammable liquids like gasoline, oil, and grease.• During everyday wear and tear, the carpet pile becomes coated with airborne oils and grease from footwear and pets.• There should not be any grease in the front wheel bearings, they are lubricated with the oil in the swivel housings.• bacon grease• Sunflower and grapeseed varieties are light and therefore particularly good for frying, leaving food crisp and free from grease.• Of jaundiced varnish, wood-smoke, grease, candle-wax, cigarette smoke and fly-shit.• I have been told by the previous owner that he filled the hubs with grease instead of oil.• Brush the paper lightly with grease. 1 Brush the edges of the basin well with grease.greasegrease2 verb [transitive] 1 DFCTto put butter, grease etc on a pan etc to prevent food from sticking to it Grease the pan before you pour the batter in. a greased baking tray2 → grease somebody’s palm3 → like greased lightning→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
grease• Luckily Joseph was able to grease a few palms, thus helping his brother to escape.• With some you have to grease the wheels more liberally.• I had connections and might be able to grease their way through tight places.• Make sure it was all greased up with pomade, then rub it across the upholstery.GreaseGrease (1978) an American musical (=a film that uses singing and dancing to tell a story), in which John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John appear, about young people in school in the 1950s and their romantic relationshipsFrom Longman Business Dictionarygreasegrease /griːs/ verb informal1grease somebody’s palm to give someone money in a secret or dishonest way in order to persuade them to do somethingThe chairman finally admitted that he, too, was forced to grease a few palms along the way.2grease the wheels to help a person, organization, system etc to work better, especially in order to get an advantageBy exempting pension funds and unit trusts from income tax, the chancellor has done a lot to grease the wheels of the City’s securities business.→ See Verb tableOrigin grease1 (1200-1300) Old French craisse, graisse, from Latin crassus “thick, fat” 