mineral oil: Meaning and Definition of

min'eral oil"

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. a colorless, oily, almost tasteless, water-insoluble liquid, usually of either a standard light densityor a standard heavy densityconsisting of mixtures of hydrocarbons obtained from petroleum by distillation: used chiefly as a lubricant, in the manufacture of cosmetics, and in medicine as a laxative. Also called
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.