Wiktionary
n. 1 A heating device which burns fuel oil; an oil furnace. 2 A machine that uses oil as its fuel. 3 (context idiomatic English) A device whose operation causes apparent combustion of lubricating oil.
WordNet
n. a furnace that burns oil [syn: oil furnace]
Wikipedia
An oil burner or oil furnace is a heating device which burns heating oil, diesel fuel or other similar fuels. The fuel is atomized into a fine spray usually by forcing it under pressure through a nozzle. This spray is usually ignited by an electric spark with the air being forced through by an electric fan.
An oil burner engine is a steam engine that uses oil as its fuel. The term is often used with reference to a locomotive or ship engine that burns oil, to heat water, to produce steam which drives the pistons, or turbines, from which the power is derived. Some engines of this form were originally designed to be coal powered and were converted. An early pioneer of this form of engine was James Holden, of Britain's Great Eastern Railway.
This is mechanically very different from a diesel engine that is a form of internal combustion engine, which is sometimes colloquially referred to as an oil burner.
Usage examples of "oil burner".
As he reached the first landing the oil burner kicked on, then sent a blast of hot air rattling up through the pipes.
Late at night, the lamps were lit, the oil burner humming in the basement like a gigantic beast.