petrol

petrol

/ˈpetrəl/

(British English)

(North American English gas, gasoline)

​a liquid obtained from petroleum, used as fuel in car engines, etc.

to fill a car up with petrol

to run out of petrol

The car has a 2-litre petrol engine.

the petrol tank of a car

An increase in petrol prices will lead to severe difficulties for the company.

leaded/unleaded petrol

Can you smell petrol?

My car runs on unleaded petrol.

The air smelled of petrol.

The price of a litre of unleaded petrol has risen.

They poured petrol over the pile of rubbish and set it alight.

We ran out of petrol and had to walk to the nearest garage.

Does your car run on unleaded petrol?

I've filled the car up with petrol.

Make sure the lights are working, the tyres are inflated and the petrol tank is full before setting off.

Collocations

adjective

… of petrol

verb + petrol

fill (something) up with

fill something with

run on

petrol + verb

petrol + noun

Word Origin

late 19th cent.: from French pétrole, from medieval Latin petroleum, from Latin petra ‘rock’ (from Greek) + Latin oleum ‘oil’.