petrol
/ˈpɛt.ɹəl/noun, verb
petrol is spelled P-E-T-R-O-L: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 5.2 times per million words in written English, the 10,843rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, petrol means “A fluid consisting of a mixture of refined petroleum hydrocarbons, primarily consisting of octane, commonly used as a motor fuel” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of petrol is petrols.
How many letters and syllables are in petrol?
| Letters | 6: P-E-T-R-O-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.2 times per million words; the 10,843rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is petrol?
Petrol appears 5.2 times per million words in written English, the 10,843rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce petrol?
- /ˈpɛt.ɹəl/
Petrol has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-petrol.ogg, En-us-petrol.ogg, En-au-petrol.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with petrol
Sounds like: petrel (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of petrol
- petrols plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- petroling US, participle, present
- petrolling UK, participle, present
- petroled US, participle, past
- petrolled UK, participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does petrol mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
CommonwealthA fluid consisting of a mixture of refined petroleum hydrocarbons, primarily consisting of octane, commonly used as a motor fuel.
- 2
informalA motor vehicle powered by petrol (as opposed to diesel).
verb
- 1
datedTo fill or supply (a vehicle, etc.) with petrol.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does petrol come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).