diesel
/ˈdisəl/noun, verb
diesel is spelled D-I-E-S-E-L: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,565th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, diesel means “A fuel derived from petroleum (or other oils) but heavier than gasoline/petrol. Used to power diesel engines which burn this fuel using the heat…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of diesel is diesels.
How many letters and syllables are in diesel?
| Letters | 6: D-I-E-S-E-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,565th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is diesel?
Diesel appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,565th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce diesel?
- /ˈdiːzəl/
- US /ˈdisəl/
- US /ˈdizəl/
Diesel has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-diesel.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with diesel?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as diesel (/isəl/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: seidel.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of diesel
- diesels plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- dieseling US, participle, present
- dieselling UK, participle, present
- dieseled US, participle, past
- dieselled UK, participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does diesel mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A fuel derived from petroleum (or other oils) but heavier than gasoline/petrol. Used to power diesel engines which burn this fuel using the heat produced when air is compressed.
They were chagrined to see that the price of diesel had climbed past six dollars a gallon.
- 2
A vehicle powered by a diesel engine.
His next truck will be a diesel.
- 3
Ellipsis of diesel engine.
Their next engine design will be a diesel.
- 4
slangA rider who has an even energy output, without bursts of speed.
- 5
UKslangSynonym of snakebite and black.
- 6
slangA particular cannabis hybrid.
verb
- 1
To ignite a substance by using the heat generated by compression.
- 2
For a spark-ignition internal combustion engine to continue running after the electrical current to the spark plugs has been turned off. This occurs when there's enough heat in the combustion chamber to ignite the air and fuel mixture without a spark, the same way that heat and pressure cause ignition in a diesel engine.
The only reason the VW bug has a solenoid is to prevent it from dieseling.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Diesel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense fuel:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | diésel, gazole |
| German | Diesel |
| Portuguese | diesel, óleo diesel |
| Spanish | diésel, gasoil, gasóleo, dísel |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does diesel come from?
From German Diesel, named after inventor Rudolf Diesel, who developed a heavy-duty engine in Germany (1892–1897) and perfected it throughout his life.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).