petrol

noun

pet·​rol ˈpe-trəl 

-ˌträl

chiefly British

: gasoline

Examples of petrol in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Irish government announced in March a 250-million-euro ($293 million) package of measures to help households and businesses tackle the spike in prices, including a cut in excise duty on both diesel and petrol. —Michael Considine, CNBC, 10 Apr. 2026

The smaller Kamiq and Karoq are petrol- or diesel-powered, while the big Kodiaq is offered with petrol, diesel or plug-in hybrid power. —New Atlas, 5 Apr. 2026

Pakistanis faced record fuel price increases Friday, as petrol and diesel prices rose by up to 54% driven by the war in the Middle East that has caused global oil prices to surge. —ABC News, 3 Apr. 2026

On Tuesday, Indonesia limited the amount of subsidized petrol people could buy. —Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2026

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

Phrases Containing petrol

• petrol bomb
• petrol station

Kids Definition

petrol

noun

pet·​rol ˈpe-trəl 

-ˌträl

chiefly British

: gasoline