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
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Ten Words from New York Times History - Japan Surrenders - August 14, 1945
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The Grand Escape
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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:
After three days of investigations, including using a bomb disposal team, police said Tuesday they had found no explosives in the vehicles, but they had retrieved a "quantity of petrol".
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
“They have petrol and ideas,” former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger said at the height of City’s power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Although the four refineries in the UK make more than enough petrol to meet demand, they do not make enough diesel for the country's needs.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
It's also widely available - found everywhere from convenience stores and petrol stations to vape shops.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Keav pokes the crackling fire to cook the dried fish while Kim fills up the petrol container with water.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
“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
"I don't know anyone in my circle of poor university grads that has been able to afford a full tank of petrol. I don't know anyone who doesn't regularly skip meals," says Ms Anwar.
From BBC ● May 1, 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
The Daily Express tells its readers that, as a consequence, they could soon be paying £1.42 a litre for petrol. that rising prices could undermine the global economic recovery.
From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2011
“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
Definitions 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.
