gasoline

gasoline — noun

1. a clear liquid made from crude oil that is used to power vehicles with engines,

1.nounB2
Definition

a clear liquid made from crude oil that is used to power vehicles with engines, such as cars, trucks, and motorcycles

Example

Priya filled the tank with gasoline before the long drive to the coast.

collocation: fill the tank with gasoline

The price of gasoline has gone up by ten cents this week.

collocation: price of gasoline goes up / goes down

Common collocations
  • run on gasoline
  • fill (the tank) with gasoline
  • gasoline prices / the price of gasoline
  • a gallon/litre of gasoline
  • unleaded / premium / regular gasoline
  • gasoline engine
  • gasoline station
  • gasoline fumes / vapor
  • gasoline tank
  • gasoline can / container
Synonyms
  • petrol

    British English equivalent; not commonly used in the US

  • gas

    informal short form in American English; also means a state of matter

Antonyms
  • diesel

    a heavier fuel for compression-ignition engines, not interchangeable with gasoline

Grammar Patterns

[amount] + of gasoline

run on + gasoline

Usage Note

Gasoline is the standard term in American English. In British English, the usual equivalent is petrol. Americans often shorten it to gas in everyday conversation, while the full form gasoline appears in more formal contexts, on product labels, and in government regulations.

Common Mistakes

My car runs on gasoline fuel.
My car runs on gasoline.
Gasoline already refers to a fuel, so adding 'fuel' is redundant.
I need to put gasoline in my diesel car.
I need to put diesel in my diesel car.
Gasoline and diesel are different fuels; using the wrong one can damage the engine.
Idioms

throw gasoline on the fire

idiom

to say or do something that makes a bad or tense situation even worse

The manager's angry comment threw gasoline on the fire, and the team argued for hours.

Bringing up old complaints during the meeting just threw gasoline on the fire.

Word family

  • gas
    nounA2
  • gaseous
    adjectiveC1
  • gasify
    verbC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Gasoline, petrol, gas, and fuel all relate to powering engines, but they differ in region and scope. Gasoline is the standard American English term for the liquid used in car engines. Petrol is its British English counterpart—a learner using an American textbook may be confused when a British speaker says petrol. Gas is the common American shortening of gasoline in everyday speech ('I need to stop for gas'), but the same word also means a state of matter (e.g., oxygen is a gas), which can cause ambiguity. Fuel is the broadest term: it covers gasoline, diesel, kerosene, hydrogen, and even wood. For example: 'We ran out of fuel on the highway' could mean gasoline, diesel, or another energy source, while 'We ran out of gas' in American English specifically means gasoline.

gasoline ↗petrol ↗gas ↗fuel ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • run out of gasoline
  • fill up with gasoline
  • a gallon of gasoline
  • a litre of gasoline

Etymology

GreekDutchLatinEnglish

The word gasoline was coined in the 1860s, around the birth of the petroleum industry. It blends gas (from Greek khaos 'empty space', later applied to vapors by the Dutch chemist Jan Baptist van Helmont) with the chemical suffix -ol (from Latin oleum 'oil') and -ine, a common ending for chemical substances. The first commercial name was Cazeline (after a Mr. Cassell), but a spelling error in an Irish newspaper produced the variant Gazeline, which later shifted to gasoline. The word has been the standard American term ever since cars became widespread in the early 1900s.