black gold

Meanings

nounblack gold (uncountable)

idiomaticinformaluncountableRaw petroleum; crude oil.
With the black gold already gushing from his country's wells, the Iranian monarch did not show much interest in what the Republic of China had to offer in agricultural know-how, commerce, and cultural interflow.
1983, James C. H. Shen, “Rejoining the Government”, in Robert Myers, editor, The U.S. & Free China: How the U.S. Sold Out Its Ally, Washington, D.C.: Acropolis Books Ltd., →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 29
uncountableBlack pepper, in the context of being a historically valuable spice.
uncountableBlack-coloured gold, variously produced by patination, deposition, oxidation, etc. and used in jewellery or in high-technology applications.
uncountableCoal.
They [the railways] are mostly remnants of a long-gone coal industry, laid out largely to bring the black gold from the mines to the waterways.
2022 April 20, Christian Wolmar, “Northumberland Line reopening is not the end of the journey”, in RAIL, number 955, page 46

Also see

(crude oil; coal; black pepper): From its black colour and high value.

Chinese Mandarin 黑金

Dutch zwart goud

Finnish musta kulta

French or noir

German schwarzes Gold

Greek μαύρος χρυσός

Italian oro nero

Polish czarne złoto

Portuguese ouro negro

Romanian aur negru

Russian чёрное зо́лото

Spanish oro negro

Cite this entry

APA

black gold. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/black%20gold

MLA

“black gold.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/black%20gold. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “black gold,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/black%20gold.