petroleum

US/pəˈtɹoʊliəm/

nounB2+Common in everyday speech and writing · #7,528 of 15,258mostly written

Petroleum is refined oil and the fuels made from it. The petroleum industry, petroleum products, crude petroleum.

Refining separates it by boiling point, which is why one barrel yields petrol, diesel, kerosene, bitumen and the feedstock for most plastics. Plastics, fertiliser and medicines all come from it as well as fuel. The name means rock oil.

Definitions of petroleum

1nounpetroleumRefined oil and the fuels made from it.B2+
“Most plastic bags and bottles are made from petroleum.”

petroleum is a fuel.

Where it comes from

Medieval Latin petroleum is petra, rock, plus oleum, oil. Petrol is a shortening of the same word.

Medieval Latin
petroleum
English, today
petroleum

Medieval Latin petroleum. a doublet of petrol.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Materials & Substances

Practise this word

petroleum in the wild

Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends.
Petrol engine
Vaseline has been the dominant brand of petroleum jelly sold since 1870.
Petroleum jelly
The following is a list of notable companies in the petroleum industry that are engaged in petroleum exploration and production.
List of oil exploration and production companies
Petroleum products are materials derived from crude oil (petroleum) as it is processed in oil refineries.
Petroleum product
Most petroleum is converted into petroleum products, which include several classes of fuels.
Petroleum product

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the petroleum family

petrol petroleum

petroleum — used about once every 2,648 pages · #7,528 · point at the bar for the others

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