grease(redirected from greases the wheels)
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grease,mixture of lubricant and thickener. It is used to reduce friction between surfaces from which oils would leak away or cause damage by dripping, or where lubrication must be assured for extended periods. Many greases are mixtures of mineral oil and soap. The more common of them contain a calcium-base soap that withstands water but not high temperature, or a sodium-base soap that withstands higher temperatures and adheres well but dissolves in water. Other soaps used in greases have bases of lithium, aluminum, barium, or strontium. Nonsoap thickeners include carbon black, which is unaffected by temperature and is therefore used with extreme low-temperature lubricants; silica gel; and bentonite, a clay developed for universal greases. Solid lubricants are sometimes used for extreme bearing pressures and high temperatures. Synthetic oils are sometimes used for special conditions, generally temperature extremes.
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Rendered, inedible animal fat that is soft at room temperature and is obtained from lard, tallow, bone, raw animal fat, and other waste products.
A lubricant in the form of a solid to semisolid dispersion of a thickening agent in a fluid lubricant, such as petroleum oil thickened with metallic soap.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
1. any thick fatty oil, esp one used as a lubricant for machinery, etc.
2. Vet science inflammation of the skin of horses around the fetlocks, usually covered with an oily secretion
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005