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greaser

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greaser¹

Rhymes with -iːsə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From grease + -er. Applied to mechanics because they frequently become greasy during the course of their work. Applied to toughs because they frequently greased their hair, and, like greaseball, to Italians for the same reason. Applied to Mexicans because, at the time the phrase originated, they commonly worked greasing the axles of carts.

noun greasers

  1. Someone or something that greases (applies grease). The pole was greased and men tried to walk out to the end of it and dislodge the crate. The pole was supple, the crate swayed as each man crept out clinging desperately and finally fell off into the sea. […] People roared with laughter and greasers applied fresh grease for the next person's try.
  2. slang A mechanic.
  3. slang A biker, a tough.
  4. slang A rocker or metalhead, especially one who listens to 1950s rock and roll or 1980s thrash metal. By such standards, the Greasers are pretty minor stuff. Basically, they're just the 1970 version of that time-honored English figure, the Leather Boy. During the fifties, he was known as the Teddy Boy; in the early sixties, he became the Rocker; and now, after a couple of earlier attempts at revival
  5. slang A very soft landing.

    Similar: greased landing

  6. US, ethnic, offensive, slur A Latin American, especially a Mexican. A pair of Greasers were ahead of me, but I could see only their outlines, and they didn't seem to interfere any with the scenery.
  7. US, ethnic, offensive, slur An Italian.
  8. US, ethnic, offensive, slur A Greek.

Greaser²

Where it comes from

Americanized spelling of German Griesser.

proper noun Greasers

  1. A surname from German.

Translations

Every language

noun someone or something that greases

Françaisgraisseur
Românăgresor

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Cite this
MLA

"greaser." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/greaser. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

greaser. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/greaser

Chicago

"greaser." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/greaser.

BibTeX
@misc{greaser_2026,
  title = {greaser},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/greaser},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}