petrodollar

British

/ ˈpɛtrəʊˌdɒlə /

noun

money, paid in dollars, earned by a country for the exporting of petroleum

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

The petrodollar narrative focuses almost exclusively on the dollar’s role as a medium of exchange and a unit of account.

From Barron's • May 27, 2026

In addition, the long-held agreement with Saudi Arabia to recycle oil petrodollar surpluses into U.S.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026

But those who conclude that the petrodollar is already in its death throes are reading the map upside down.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026

"If they can bring in the oil producer countries that will be key, given the petrodollar system," said William Gumede, a South African political analyst who has written extensively on BRICS.

From Reuters • Jun. 1, 2023

The Iranian revolution shocked the world and shook the very bases of petrodollar interdependence.

From Washington Post • Aug. 11, 2021

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023