oiler

plural oilers

1. One who or that which oils.
   1. An assistant in the engine room of a ship, senior only to a wiper, mainly responsible for keeping machinery lubricated.
   2. Any of various automatic devices for oiling pneumatic tools or other tools.
2. nauticalAn oil tanker.

   The order to rename the oiler ship USNS Harvey Milk – christened four years ago – is unusual but is in line with the White House mandate to reverse a number of military initiatives by Democratic presidents.

   2025 June 4, Andy Rose, “Gay rights icon Harvey Milk’s legacy slighted by decision to rename Navy ship”, in CNN

3. Synonym of oilcan.

   Synonyms: oilcan

   1. engineeringA small (typically thumb-sized) metal container of oil, often containing an integral brush.
4. Synonym of oil well.

   Synonyms: oil well

5. informalAn oilskin coat.
6. USethnicslurA Mexican.

   Near-synonym: greaser

   1 more example

   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

   Synonyms: greaser

7. derogatoryslangA sycophant, which is someone who is oily (smarmy).

   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

8. slangA heavy drinker; especially, an alcoholic.