biofuel

biofuel — noun

1. a type of fuel produced from plants, crops, or animal waste rather than from coa

1.nounB2
Definition

a type of fuel produced from plants, crops, or animal waste rather than from coal or oil, often burned in cars, buses, or power stations as a cleaner alternative.

Example

Farmers in northern Brazil grow sugar cane to produce biofuel for local buses.

produce + biofuel: typical verb-noun collocation

The new airline has promised to mix biofuel with regular jet fuel by 2030.

mix + biofuel + with: noun phrase pattern

Common collocations
  • produce biofuel
  • biofuel crop
  • biofuel production
  • biofuel industry
  • switch to biofuel
Synonyms
  • bioenergy

    broader term covering heat and electricity from organic matter, not only liquid fuel

  • biodiesel

    a specific type of biofuel made from vegetable oil or animal fat for diesel engines

  • ethanol

    a specific biofuel made by fermenting plant sugars, usually mixed with petrol

Antonyms
  • fossil fuel

    fuel formed underground over millions of years, e.g. coal, oil, natural gas

Grammar Patterns

used in compounds: biofuel production / biofuel crop

Usage Note

Often appears in compound nouns such as 'biofuel crop', 'biofuel industry', and 'biofuel production'. Both countable (a biofuel) and uncountable (some biofuel) uses are common; the countable use is typical when referring to a specific type, e.g. 'ethanol is a biofuel'.

Common Mistakes

Cars run on biofuels which are made by oil.
Cars run on biofuels which are made from plants.
biofuels come FROM living material, not FROM oil; oil-based fuel is fossil fuel.

Word family

  • bioenergy
    nounC1
  • biodiesel
    nounC1
  • biomass
    nounC1
  • fuel
    nounB1
  • fuel
    verbB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words relate to energy from living material, but their scope differs. 'Biofuel' is the broadest liquid- or gas-fuel term — anything burned in an engine that comes from plants, crops, or animal waste. 'Biodiesel' is one specific kind of biofuel made from vegetable oil or animal fat, designed for diesel engines such as trucks and tractors. 'Ethanol' is another specific biofuel, an alcohol made by fermenting sugar or corn, usually blended into petrol for cars. 'Bioenergy' is the widest term of all and includes heat, electricity, and fuel — for example, wood pellets that warm a house count as bioenergy but are not usually called biofuel. So a sentence like 'The factory makes biodiesel and ethanol, the two main biofuels in Europe' uses each word in its proper place.

biofuel ↗biodieselethanol ↗bioenergy

Common collocations

Nouns

  • biofuel crop
  • biofuel production
  • biofuel industry
  • biofuel plant
  • biofuel blend

Phrases

  • next-generation biofuel
  • advanced biofuel
  • sustainable biofuel

Prepositions

  • biofuel from (organic source)
  • run on biofuel
  • switch to biofuel

Etymology

GreekOld FrenchEnglish

Formed in English in the late 20th century by joining the prefix 'bio-' (meaning living matter, from Greek 'bios' = life) with the everyday word 'fuel' (from Old French 'fouaille', material for a fire). The compound came into wide use in the 1970s and 1980s as scientists and policymakers searched for alternatives to oil after the energy crises of that era.