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petrostate

British

/ ˈpɛtrəˌsteɪt /

noun

derogatory a small oil-rich country in which institutions are weak and wealth and power are concentrated in the hands of a few

"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.

There could be no doubt that Venezuela was now well established as a petrostate.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 10, 2026

“I think the anger, to be righteous in nature, has to be directed at the bad actors who have blocked climate progress: fossil fuel executives and petrostate authoritarians,” Mann said.

From Salon • Oct. 22, 2024

No sign here that the country has become a premier-league petrostate.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2024

Those from Sheikh Nawaf’s lifetime, born before oil fully transformed Kuwait from a trading hub into a petrostate, have been fading away with age.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 16, 2023

Ten years earlier, Venezuela, a petrostate under the presidency of Hugo Chávez, witnessed a bust in oil prices.

From Slate • Aug. 25, 2021

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