petrol
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a car that uses petrol instead of diesel or electricity.
n.a vehicle or engine powered by petrol, often used when comparing different fuel types. Usually uncountable when referring to the category.
Simple“Is your new car a petrol or a diesel?”
In context“With the new environmental regulations, many commuters are trading in their older diesels for modern petrol or hybrid models.”
- 02 C2 Proficiency
v.to put fuel into a vehicle.
v.to supply or fill a vehicle with petrol. This transitive use is less common in modern speech than the phrasal verb 'fill up'.
Simple“We stopped at the station to petrol the car before the long drive.”
In context“The expedition team had to petrol their vehicles at the final outpost before venturing into the unmapped desert regions.”
petrol vs gasoline/gas — Petrol is the standard term in British English, while gasoline or gas is used in American English.
Borrowed from French (essence de) pétrole, from Medieval Latin petroleum, from Ancient Greek πετρέλαιον (petrélaion, “oil of the rock”), from πέτρα (pétra, “stone, rock”)+ ἔλαιον (élaion, “olive oil, any oily substance”). Doublet of petroleum.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.