petrochemical

noun

pet·​ro·​chem·​i·​cal ˌpe-trō-ˈke-mi-kəl 

: a chemical isolated or derived from petroleum or natural gas

petrochemistry

ˌpe-trō-ˈke-mə-strē 

noun

Examples of petrochemical in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Industrial chemistry achieves speed, scale, and cost savings due to catalysts, enabling the production of everything from petrochemicals to drugs. —Chris Lee, ArsTechnica, 9 June 2026

Earlier, Israel bombed Iranian cities—with explosions heard in Tehran, Tabriz, and Isfahan—as well as an Iranian petrochemical plant in Bandar-e Mahshar after intercepting a wave of ballistic missiles from Iran on Sunday night. —Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 8 June 2026

The Jubail petrochemical and industrial complex in Saudi Arabia is offline, knocking out a key world reservoir of resin. —Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 8 June 2026

Israel and Iran both said Israel hit an Iranian petrochemical plant. —Khaled Wassef, CBS News, 8 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

petro- + chemical entry 2

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for petrochemical

• academical
• agrochemical
• biochemical
• cytochemical
• geochemical
• histochemical
• microchemical
• neurochemical
• photochemical
• phytochemical
• spectrochemical
• thermochemical

Kids Definition

petrochemical

noun

pet·​ro·​chem·​i·​cal ˌpe-trō-ˈkem-i-kəl 

: a chemical obtained from petroleum or natural gas