1. (n.)petroleum an oily, thick, flammable, usu. dark-colored liquid that is a form of bitumen or a mixture of various hydrocarbons, occurring naturally and commonly obtained by drilling: used as fuel, or separated by distillation into gasoline, naphtha, benzene, kerosene, paraffin, etc.
Etymology: (1895–1900)
Definition of 'PETROLEUM'
Princeton's WordNet
1. (noun)petroleum, crude oil, crude, rock oil, fossil oil, oil a dark oil consisting mainly of hydrocarbons
Definition of 'PETROLEUM'
Webster Dictionary
1. (noun)PETROLEUM rock oil, mineral oil, or natural oil, a dark brown or greenish inflammable liquid, which, at certain points, exists in the upper strata of the earth, from whence it is pumped, or forced by pressure of the gas attending it. It consists of a complex mixture of various hydrocarbons, largely of the methane series, but may vary much in appearance, composition, and properties. It is refined by distillation, and the products include kerosene, benzine, gasoline, paraffin, etc
Definitions of 'PETROLEUM'
The Nuttall Encyclopedia
1. PETROLEUM is the common name of a series of rock oils found in large quantities in the United States and Canada, near Rangoon, and in the neighbourhood of the CaspianSea. The oil issues from the rocks, or is drawn from subterranean reservoirs, where its presence is supposed to result from naturaldistillation of vegetable and animal substances, and after refining, put in the market as benzoline, paraffin, and lubricating oil. It is extensively used in the industries, and has been applied as fuel to steamships. Pétroleuse
Definition of 'PETROLEUM'
U.S. National Library of Medicine
1. PETROLEUM Naturally occurring complexliquid hydrocarbons which, after distillation, yieldcombustible fuels, petrochemicals, and lubricants.
Definitions of PETROLEUM 
Afrikaans: petroleum
Arabic: نَفْط، بِتْرول
Bulgarian: нефт
Brazilian: petróleo
Czech: ropa
German: das Erdöl
Danish: råolie
Greek: πετρέλαιο
Spanish: petróleo
Estonian: nafta
Farsi: نفت خام
Finnish: raakaöljy
French: pétrole
Hebrew: נֶפט
Hindi: पेट्रोलियम
Croatian: nafta
Hungarian: kőolaj
Indonesian: minyak tanah
Icelandic: jarð-/hráolía
Italian: petrolio
Japanese: 石油
Korean: 석유
Lithuanian: nafta
Latvian: nafta
Malay: petroleum
Dutch: aardolie
Norwegian: råolje
Polish: ropa naftowa
Persian: نفت خام
Pashto: پټرول ، معد نى تيل، دموټر
Portuguese: petróleo
Romanian: ţiţei; petrol
Russian: нефть
Slovak: ropa
Slovenian: nafta
Serbian: nafta
Swedish: råolja, petroleum
Thai: น้ำมันดิบ
Turkish: petrol
Taiwanese: 石油
Ukrainian: нафта
Urdu: خام پٹرول
Vietnamese: dầu mỏ
Chinese: 石油
