I. grease 1 /ɡriːs/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: craisse , graisse , from Latin crassus 'thick, fat' ]
1 . a fatty or oily substance that comes off meat when it is cooked, or off food made using butter or oil
2 . a thick oily substance that is put on the moving parts of a car, machine etc to make it run or move smoothly
3 . an oily substance that is produced by your skin
⇨ elbow grease at ↑ elbow 1 (3)
II. grease 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . to put butter, grease etc on a pan etc to prevent food from sticking to it:
Grease the pan before you pour the batter in.
a greased baking tray
2 . grease sb’s palm to give someone money in a secret or dishonest way in order to persuade them to do something:
Joseph was able to grease a few palms, thus helping his brother to escape.
3 . like greased lightning informal extremely fast