refuel

verb

re·​fu·​el (ˌ)rē-ˈfyü(-ə)l 

refueled; refueling; refuels

transitive verb

: to provide with additional fuel

intransitive verb

: to take on additional fuel

Examples of refuel in a Sentence

The crew refueled the airplane.

The airplane landed to refuel.

Recent Examples on the Web

This time, in the form of BYD’s new battery system which is reportedly capable of charging an electric car in just five minutes – roughly the same amount of time as refueling a combustion vehicle. —New Atlas, 20 Mar. 2025

This trio doesn’t tend to refuel on flower nectar as much as other butterflies do. —Miri Talabac, Baltimore Sun, 13 Mar. 2025

The airport was closed by the time the plane had refueled, and the team found a local motel with vacancy for the night. —Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Mar. 2025

According to the report, the plane departed from Florida on Feb. 10 before stopping to refuel in Austin, Texas, and heading for Scottsdale. —Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1811, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for refuel

• accrual
• nonfuel
• renewal
• biofuel
• contextual
• nonrenewal
• nonsexual
• unusual
• cruel
• dual
• duel
• fuel

Kids Definition

refuel

verb

re·​fu·​el (ˈ)rē-ˈfyü-əl 

: to provide with or take on more fuel