petrol

noun

pet·​rol ˈpe-trəl How to pronounce petrol (audio)
-ˌträl
chiefly British

Examples of petrol in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Therefore, India is one of the few countries in the world where in the last three years, prices of energy, petrol, diesel, at the retail point, have actually come down. Danish Manzoor Bhat, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 May 2025 Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker wore a custom Vivienne Westwood 1780s-style petrol blue silk gala dress. Julia Teti, Footwear News, 22 May 2025 Over the course of their wistful and chaotic journey into the big city (a two-hour drive from Ibadan that becomes an odyssey unto itself, thanks to Nigeria’s petrol shortage), the boys will come to see their father in a brilliant new light — one that will light up their dreams for decades to come. David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 18 May 2025 Aromas include black licorice, petrol, cinnamon and nutmeg. Tom Mullen, Forbes.com, 11 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for petrol

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French pétrole "petroleum, any of various products distilled from petroleum," going back to Old French petteroile, petrole "mineral oil, petroleum," borrowed from Medieval Latin petroleum — more at petroleum

Note: The use of the word in English is apparently owed to a cooperative endeavor by the British distilling and oil refining firm Carless, Capel and Leonard and the engineer Frederick Richard Simms, who had purchased the rights to Gottlieb Daimler's gasoline-powered engine. Though an attempt to register petrol as a trademark was unsuccessful, Carless, Capel and Leonard continued to use it as a marketing name. Note that French pétrole (rather than essence de pétrole) is used for distilled petroleum products by Gustave Richard in Les nouveaux moteurs à gaz et à pétrole (Paris, 1892). The now usual French word essence for "gasoline" is shortened from essence de pétrole.

First Known Use

1895, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of petrol was in 1895

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Petrol.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/petrol. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

petrol

noun
pet·​rol ˈpe-trəl How to pronounce petrol (audio)
-ˌträl
chiefly British

More from Merriam-Webster on petrol

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!