Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - fuel

(fuels, fuelling, fuelled) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. Note: in AM, use 'fueling', 'fueled' 1. Fuel is a substance such as coal, oil, or petrol that is burned to provide heat or power. They ran out of fuel. ...industrial research into cleaner fuels. N-MASS 2. To fuel a situation means to make it become worse or more intense. The result will inevitably fuel speculation about the Prime Minister’s future... The economic boom was fueled by easy credit. = feed VERB: V n, be V-ed 3. If something adds fuel to a conflict or debate, or adds fuel to the fire, it makes the conflict or debate more intense. His comments are bound to add fuel to the debate... The decision to raise tariffs on imports will only add fuel to the fire. PHRASE: V inflects