petroleum
gb/pətɹˈoʊliəm/ us/pətɹˈoʊliəm/
B2
English
~ 6600
Senses
0 senses
Noun
technical
B2
entity
1
naturally occurring crude oil
A natural oil found deep in the ground that is taken out and used to make fuel and many other products.
Usage pattern:
petroleum is used as [a fuel / a raw material]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'petroleum' with 'petrol'. In most varieties of English, 'petrol' (mainly British English) means gasoline for cars, while 'petroleum' is the broader term for crude oil and its raw form. In everyday conversation many speakers just say 'oil' instead of 'petroleum'.
Synonyms
crude oil (More specific; clearly refers to the raw, unrefined petroleum as it comes from the ground.)
|
oil (Very common in everyday speech for petroleum, but also has many other meanings (cooking oil, motor oil, etc.).)
|
fossil fuel (Broader term; includes petroleum but also coal and natural gas.)
Antonyms
renewable energy (Refers to energy sources that are naturally replenished (like solar or wind), in contrast to petroleum, which is a finite fossil resource.)
Collocations
petroleum industry
|petroleum products
|petroleum reserves
|petroleum production
|petroleum prices
|petroleum engineer
Themes
energy
|environment
|industry
|science
|technology
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Rising petroleum prices have increased the cost of transportation worldwide.
- The country depends heavily on petroleum exports for its national income.
- Petroleum is refined to produce gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and many other products.
- New technologies are being developed to reduce pollution from burning petroleum.
- Large petroleum reserves were discovered off the coast, attracting major oil companies.
Learner examples
- Petroleum is taken from deep under the ground.
- Many cars use fuel made from petroleum.
- Some countries are rich because they sell a lot of petroleum.
- Petroleum can cause pollution when it is burned.
- We may need new energy sources when petroleum is gone.
Grammar
Dictionary form
petroleum
IPA
GB/pətɹˈoʊliəm/
US/pətɹˈoʊliəm/
Syllables & stress
pet - ro - leum (3 syllables)
Stress on 2nd syllable (ro)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: petroleum
- Plural: petroleum, petroleums
Word family
Expressions
petroleum engineer
1/pətɹˈoʊliəm ˈɛnd͡ʒənˈɪɹ/
fixed phrase
technical
engineer for petroleum extraction
An engineer who plans and controls how to find and take petroleum from under the ground or sea.
Examples
- He works as a petroleum engineer on offshore drilling platforms.
- The company is hiring more petroleum engineers for its new oil fields.
- She studied geology before training as a petroleum engineer.
petroleum industry
1/pətɹˈoʊliəm ˈɪndəstɹi/
fixed phrase
technical
business sector for petroleum
The group of companies and activities that find, take, move, and sell petroleum and its fuels.
Examples
- The petroleum industry plays a major role in the country’s economy.
- Many international regulations now affect the global petroleum industry.
- She wrote her thesis about safety standards in the petroleum industry.
petroleum products
1/pətɹˈoʊliəm pɹˈɑdʌkts/
fixed phrase
technical
fuels made from petroleum
Fuels and other materials that are made by cleaning and processing petroleum in a refinery.
Examples
- Gasoline, diesel, and kerosene are common petroleum products.
- The country imports most of its petroleum products from abroad.
- New rules limit sulfur content in petroleum products used in ships.
petroleum jelly
1/pətɹˈoʊliəm d͡ʒˈɛli/
fixed phrase
skin ointment from petroleum
A soft, thick substance made from petroleum that people put on dry or hurt skin to protect or soften it.
Examples
- She put petroleum jelly on her lips to stop them from drying out.
- She put petroleum jelly on her dry lips.
- Petroleum jelly is often used to protect the skin from cold weather.
- Doctors sometimes use petroleum jelly to protect the skin under a bandage.
- The doctor recommended using a thin layer of petroleum jelly on the cut.
- He rubbed a little petroleum jelly on the cut to keep it from drying out.