petro-

¹

1. a combining form meaning “rock,” “stone,” used in the formation of compound words.

   petrology.

petro-

²

1. a combining form meaning “petroleum,” “the extraction and export of petroleum,” used in the formation of compound words.

   petrochemistry; petropower.

petro

³

[pe-troh]

adjective

1. of or relating to petroleum or the petroleum industry.

noun

1. Canadian.,  the federally owned petroleum industry.

petro-

combining form

1. indicating stone or rock

   petrology

2. indicating petroleum, its products, etc

   petrochemical

3. of or relating to a petroleum-producing country

   petrostate

Word History and Origins

Origin of petro-¹

< Greek, combining form of pétra rock, pétros a stone

Origin of petro-²

Extracted from petroleum

Origin of petro-³

First recorded in 1970–75; independent use of petro- ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of petro-¹

from Greek petra rock or petros stone

Example Sentences

Citizens of Somalia, Sierra Leone, Togo, Cuba and Sri Lanka , among others, are currently held in Ukrainian prisoner-of-war camps, Petro Yatsenko, Ukraine's spokesperson on the treatment of prisoners of war, recently told the BBC.

From BBC

Petro was already en route to Bogota from New York on Friday night, according to Colombian media cited by Agence France-Presse.

From BBC

On his social media account, Petro shared a video of himself speaking Spanish to a large crowd through a megaphone on Friday.

From BBC

"We will revoke Petro's visa due to his reckless and incendiary actions," it said.

From BBC

Petro, whose country is the world's biggest cocaine producer, has said he suspects some of those killed in the US boat strikes were Colombian.

From BBC

When To Use

What does petro- mean?

Petro- is a combining form used like a prefix that has two distinct senses.The first of these senses is “rock” or "stone," and this form of petro- is occasionally used in a variety of scientific and technical terms. Petro- comes from Greek pétra, meaning “rock.” Two Latin translations of pétra are lapis and saxum, both meaning “stone,” which are the roots of terms such as lapis lazuli and saxifrage, respectively. To learn more, check out our entries for both words.The second of these senses is “petroleum,” and this form of petro- is occasionally used in a variety of technical terms. Petro- is an abbreviation of the word petroleum, from the Medieval Latin word for "rock oil; the -oleum element means "oil" in Latin. Find out more about the word petroleum at our entry for the word.What are variants of petro- with the sense “rock”?Petri- is a variant of petro-, which exchanges its -o- for an -i- when combined with words or word elements beginning with certain consonants. Another variant for petro- in this sense is petr-, which loses its -o- combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles for petri- and petr-.Not every word that begins with the exact letters petro- or petr-, such as petronel or petrel, is necessarily using the combining form petro- to denote “rock” or "petroleum.” Learn why petrel is the name of a seabird at our entry for the word.