petrol
noun
petrol
1 American
[pe-truhl]
/ ˈpɛ trəl /
petrol.
2
American
abbreviation
petrol.
1
British
abbreviation
petrol
2
British
/ ˈpɛtrəl /
noun
Etymology
Origin of petrol
1590–1600; < Middle French petrole < Medieval Latin petroleum petroleum
Explanation
Petrol is a fuel derived from petroleum. If you are American, you probably call petrol "gas." When the price of petrol goes up, lots of people complain, because petrol is gasoline. Petrol is the fuel used in many types of vehicles, including cars, motorcycles, motorboats, and airplanes. Petrol is derived from petroleum, and besides smelling bad, it's very flammable. If you light a match near petrol, there will be an explosion. Since petrol comes from petroleum, petrol is a fossil fuel.
Vocabulary lists containing petrol
Boy: Tales of Childhood
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Ten Words from New York Times History - Japan Surrenders - August 14, 1945
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Grand Escape
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Moldovan tourist Raisa Neagu spent hours on Wednesday waiting to fuel up her scooter, one of many people snared in a petrol shortage on resort island Bali that authorities blamed on supply disruptions.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
NNPC, Nigeria's state oil company, runs a vast network of petrol stations across the country.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Google Maps will now show fuel prices to help motorists find cheaper petrol and diesel in the UK as costs continue to soar.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
While UK refineries produce more than enough petrol to meet demand, they do not make enough diesel to meet the country's needs.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Others hunted for hidden petrol and ship oil pockets, bucketing out the valuable fluid.
From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi
"We were stuck with no petrol. So we couldn't move. We had to cancel all our plans," 43-year-old tourist Neagu told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
“We are appealing to the government to intervene in the ever-increasing price of food and petrol. We cannot even afford to pay for transport.”
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 24, 2022
He said: "I love the smell of petrol. I love working offshore away from civilisation."
From BBC ● May 23, 2022
"Of course it's a huge problem to get ambulances in a war zone, a huge problem to get petrol. The ambulances are often partly falling apart and we have to keep finding solutions," he said.
From Reuters ● Apr. 4, 2022
“She calls gasoline petrol. A motorcycle is a motorbike and a truck, a lorry.”
From "Silent To The Bone" by E.L. Konigsburg
There was Mrs. Spankham with a superb model of Westminster Abbey—its petrolling had been the greatest stroke in convincing the voters of the pure motives of the feminists.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 146, March 11, 1914 by Sir Owen Seaman
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
