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:
Along the roads around Izyum burnt-out shells of petrol stations have become part of the landscape, heaps of mangled, charred metal.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
"The lines are starting to build up again. And notice that petrol prices aren't coming down -- they're actually going up."
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Vicki said she had yet to come across a counterfeit squishy toy, but has seen warnings from parents about a "very strong petrol smell" coming from them.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
“We’ve got this sort of mechanically sound car now, and we just need some petrol, and the petrol is capital,” Walker said in an interview.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
A walk down to the village could be accomplished in a half-hour or so and there I could surely find accommodation and a can of petrol.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
“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
"We cannot live without gas or petrol. We're in deep trouble."
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 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
"I begrudge getting a penny. It goes into my car ash tray, until I go a penny over on petrol. Then it comes out."
From BBC ● May 7, 2016
“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.
