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petroleum

American  
[puh-troh-lee-uhm] / pəˈtroʊ li əm /

noun

  1. an oily, thick, flammable, usually dark-colored liquid that is a form of bitumen or a mixture of various hydrocarbons, occurring naturally in various parts of the world and commonly obtained by drilling: used in a natural or refined state as fuel, or separated by distillation into gasoline, naphtha, benzene, kerosene, paraffin, etc.

petroleum British  
/ pəˈtrəʊlɪəm /

noun

  1. a dark-coloured thick flammable crude oil occurring in sedimentary rocks around the Persian Gulf, in parts of North and South America, and below the North Sea, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. Fractional distillation separates the crude oil into petrol, paraffin, diesel oil, lubricating oil, etc. Fuel oil, paraffin wax, asphalt, and carbon black are extracted from the residue

"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
petroleum Scientific  
/ pə-trō′lē-əm /

  1. A thick, flammable, yellow-to-black mixture of gaseous, liquid, and solid hydrocarbons that occurs naturally beneath the Earth's surface. It can be separated into fractions including natural gas, gasoline, naphtha, kerosene, paraffin wax, asphalt, and fuel and lubricating oils, and is used as raw material for a wide variety of derivative products. It is believed to originate from the accumulated remains of fossil plants and animals, especially in shallow marine environments.

Other Word Forms

  • petroleous adjective

Etymology

Origin of petroleum

1520–30; < Medieval Latin: literally, rock oil, equivalent to Latin petr ( a ) rock (< Greek pétra ) + oleum oil

Compare meaning

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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.

It holds no strategic petroleum reserve, operates no domestic refinery, and has no bilateral arrangement with any major energy producer it can activate under pressure.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

Pakistan drastically raised fuel prices in response to spiking global prices caused by the war, the country's petroleum minister said.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

Paris dropped about half a percent, even as oil giant TotalEnergies was up almost three percent on reports it made a $1 billion profit in March trading petroleum products.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

Myanmar imports 90% of its oil and petroleum products, much of it from neighbouring countries which are now restricting exports.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

Milton stepped on the gas, ignoring the scarcity not only of petroleum but of many other things as well.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

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.