oil boomn.1
/ˈɔɪl ˌbuːm/, U.S. /ˈɔɪl ˌbum/ A sudden increase in economic activity or wealth as a result of the exploitation of mineral oil.
ΚΠ
1922 D. S. Muzzey United States Amer. II. p. iii E. P. Oberholtzer..gives more attention to social and industrial topics, like..the oil boom in Pennsylvania.
1974 Evening News (Edinb.) 11 Apr. 5/3 The oil boom for Scotland will take the same course as the whisky we make.
2001 Ecologist Sept. 57/3 In Texas it was the collapse of the oil boom and Dubya's self-righteous judicature that brought about a boom in hoodlum ‘hoosegows’.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
oil boomn.2
/ˈɔɪl ˌbuːm/, U.S. /ˈɔɪl ˌbum/ A floating barrier placed over a stretch of water to prevent the passage of oil, esp. following an oil spill.
ΚΠ
1972 New Yorker 23 Dec. 23/1 In less frenzied waters, an oil boom, which looks like a chain of large yellow plastic sausages, would have been placed around the ship to dam the oil.
1984 A. C. Duxbury & A. Duxbury Introd. World's Oceans xi. 367 The technology for oil cleanup at sea includes oil booms and oil skimmers.
2000 N. Amer. Jrnl. Fisheries Managem. 20 288 Five fish moved greater distances throughout the length of the discharge canal, with most of their time spent in areas that provided velocity refuges and cover (e.g., large rip-rap and oil-boom structures).
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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