adj · noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:P EH2 T R OW0 K EH1 M IH0 K AH0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Any chemical derived from petroleum.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
As the prices of petroleum, natural gas, and coal fluctuate over the years, the petrochemical industry can to some extent switch feedstocks.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
any compound obtained from petroleum or natural gas
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: organic compound
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Pre-Greekder.? Ancient Greek πέτρᾱ (pétrā)bor. Latin petrader. English petro- Proto-Indo-European *ǵhew- Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Ancient Greek -μᾰ (-mă) Ancient Greek χῠ́μᾰ (khŭ́mă) Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh2 Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ία (-ía) Ancient Greek χυμείᾱ (khumeíā)bor. Arabic الْكِيمِيَاء (al-kīmiyāʔ)bor. Medieval Latin alchēmia ▲ Ancient Greek χυμείᾱ (khumeíā)influ. New Latin chēmia Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icus New Latin chēmicus English -al English chemical English petrochemical From petro- + chemical.
Across languages
Translations
28 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Catalan:
petroquímic
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
Dutch:
petrochemisch
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
Esperanto:
petrolĥemia
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
Esperanto:
petrolkemia
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
Finnish:
petrokemiallinen
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
French:
pétrochimique
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
German:
gesteinschemisch
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
Irish:
peitriceimiceach
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
Italian:
petrolchimico
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
Japanese:
石油化学の
(sekiyu-kagaku no)
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
Korean:
석유 화학의
(seogyu hwahagui)
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
Norwegian Bokmål:
petrokjemisk
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
Norwegian Nynorsk:
petrokjemisk
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
Polish:
petrochemiczny
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
Portuguese:
petroquímico
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
Romanian:
petrochimic
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
Romanian:
petrochimică
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
Russian:
нефтехими́ческий
(nefteximíčeskij)
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
Serbo-Croatian:
петроке́мӣјскӣ
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
Serbo-Croatian:
petrokémījskī
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
Spanish:
petroquímico
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
Swedish:
petrokemisk
— of or pertaining to the such compounds, or the industry that produces them
Finnish:
petrokemikaali
— any compound derived from petroleum or natural gas
Irish:
peitriceimiceán
— any compound derived from petroleum or natural gas
Māori:
matūkōhinu
— any compound derived from petroleum or natural gas
Māori:
matūngahinu
— any compound derived from petroleum or natural gas
Swahili:
petrokemikali
— any compound derived from petroleum or natural gas
Swedish:
petrokemikalie
— any compound derived from petroleum or natural gas