petrol
/ˈpɛt.ɹəl/
"petrol" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“petrol” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #10,905 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #10,905
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 14
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A fluid consisting of a mixture of refined petroleum hydrocarbons, primarily consisting of octane, commonly used as a motor fuel.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | petrol |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpɛt.ɹəl/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #10,905 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 14 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “petrol” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for petrol is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɛt.ɹəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,905 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for petrol, with forms such as "eptrol", "pertol", and "petorl". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 14 confusable-pair relationships, "Petrov", "Perl", "Petr", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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. The correct English form is petrol, spelled P-E-T-R-O-L.
Definition
- 1A fluid consisting of a mixture of refined petroleum hydrocarbons, primarily consisting of octane, commonly used as a motor fuel.
- 2A motor vehicle powered by petrol (as opposed to diesel).
Etymology
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.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: eptrol,pertol,petorl,petrlo,petroll,petrrol,pettrol,ppetrol,pterol
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of petrol - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "petrol"?
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Using “petrol”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-E-T-R-O-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɛt.ɹəl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Petrov” - see the side-by-side comparison. petrol vs Petrov
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.