petroleum

P3E1T1R1O1L1E1U1M3
US/pəˈtɹoʊliəm/

noun

A flammable liquid ranging in color from clear to very dark brown and black, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring naturally in deposits under the Earth's surface.

“petroleum-based products”

Similar
crude oiloilblack golddino juicedino oildinosaur juicedinosaur oilgas
OriginMedieval Latin petroleum →
CommonScrabble 13
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Meanings

petroleum1

nounpetroleum (countable and uncountable, plural petroleums or petrolea)

plural petroleums · plural petrolea · alternative archaic petrolaeum · alternative archaic petrolæum

  1. countableuncountableA flammable liquid ranging in color from clear to very dark brown and black, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring naturally in deposits under the Earth's surface.

    petroleum-based products

    1 more example

    Coal and petroleum do not occur hap-hazard in nature, but the aggregate occurrence of each product in any region forms a definite, limited horizon, which, in its continuance, is independent of the bedding plane.

    1940, William Plotts, Isogeotherm, Or Monist Theory of Stratified Mineral Occurrence and Origin, page 7

    Synonyms: crude oil, oil, black gold, dino juice, dino oil, dinosaur juice, dinosaur oil, gas

Petroleum2

proper noun
  1. A place in the United States:
    1. An unincorporated community in Nottingham Township, Wells County, Indiana.
    2. An unincorporated community in Allen County, Kentucky.
    3. An unincorporated community in Ritchie County, West Virginia.

      Synonyms: Rogers

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA flammable liquid ranging in color from clear to very dark brown and black, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring naturally in deposits under the Earth's surface.

Similar
crude oiloilblack golddino juicedino oildinosaur juicedinosaur oilgasgasolinejuiceoilpetrolTexas tea

proper nounAn unincorporated community in Ritchie County, West Virginia.

Similar
Rogers

More synonyms by meaning

nouna dark oil consisting mainly of hydrocarbons

Similar
crude oilcruderock oilfossil oiloil
Broader
oilfossil fuel
Also see
crudecrude oildinosaur juicefossil oilgasoilrock oilrogers

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Medieval Latinpetroleum
  2. Englishpetroleum

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin petroleum. Doublet of petrol.

More words from Medieval Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

petroleum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/petroleum

MLA

“petroleum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/petroleum. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “petroleum,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/petroleum.

Source: petroleum on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.