palm oil

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   A thick reddish or yellowish oil taken from the fruit of certain tropical palm trees, used in food, soap, and fuel.

   Grammar: Uncountable, so it has no plural: say some palm oil, not 'two palm oils'.

   Patterns

   • use palm oil in something
   • produce palm oil
   • palm oil production

   Many biscuits and shampoos contain palm oil.

   Indonesia and Malaysia produce most of the world's palm oil.

   Environmental groups warn that palm oil farming destroys rainforest.

2. 2noununcountable

   The business or industry of growing palms and making this oil, often discussed because of its environmental effects.

   Grammar: Used in the same uncountable way, often with words like industry or trade.

   Patterns

   • the palm oil industry
   • sustainable palm oil
   • a palm oil company

   The supermarket promised to use only sustainable palm oil.

   She wrote a report on the palm oil trade in Southeast Asia.

Common combinations

palm oil plantation

They cleared the forest to build a palm oil plantation.

sustainable palm oil

The label shows the chocolate was made with sustainable palm oil.

palm oil production

Palm oil production has doubled in twenty years.

contain palm oil

Check the label; many snacks contain palm oil.

palm oil industry

The palm oil industry employs thousands of people.

Synonyms and how they differ

vegetable oil

A general term for any plant-based cooking oil; palm oil is one specific type.

palm kernel oil

A different oil from the seed inside the palm fruit, not the fruit itself.

Word family

palm noun

The tropical tree that produces the fruit used for this oil.

Commonly confused: palm oil or palm?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “palm oil”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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