petrochemical

noun

pet·​ro·​chem·​i·​cal ˌpe-trō-ˈke-mi-kəl 

: a chemical isolated or derived from petroleum or natural gas

petrochemistry

ˌpe-trō-ˈke-mə-strē 

noun

Examples of petrochemical in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Meanwhile, petroleum & petrochemicals, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and banks were among the worst-performing subsectors. —Brendan Ahern, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025

Trinidad needs the fuel to boost its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petrochemical industries and Venezuela hopes to have access to cash. —Panorama Media Ltd., Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2025

The tender for its initial roster of teams had attracted a directory of the steel, cement and petrochemical barons who dominate the country’s economy: Tata Steel, JSW and Sanjiv Goenka among them. —Rory Smith, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025

Synthetic gums contained high levels of the polymers PET and polystyrenes along with petrochemical substances, like synthetic rubber and polyvinyl acetate. —Julia Ries, Health, 1 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

petro- + chemical entry 2

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for petrochemical

• academical
• agrochemical
• biochemical
• cytochemical
• geochemical
• histochemical
• microchemical
• neurochemical
• photochemical
• phytochemical
• spectrochemical
• thermochemical

Kids Definition

petrochemical

noun

pet·​ro·​chem·​i·​cal ˌpe-trō-ˈkem-i-kəl 

: a chemical obtained from petroleum or natural gas