What does "petrodollar" mean?

Money (either notionally or specifically in dollars or other currencies) earned from the sale of oil, often especially as considered among a national economy's principal revenue streams.

How do you pronounce "petrodollar"?

Pronounced //ˈpɛtɹə(ʊ)ˌdɒlə//.

Petrodollar

//ˈpɛtɹə(ʊ)ˌdɒlə// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
Money (either notionally or specifically in dollars or other currencies) earned from the sale of oil, often especially as considered among a national economy's principal revenue streams. also, attributive, in-plural

Etymology

From petro- (prefix meaning ‘petroleum; oil export’) + dollar, possibly modelled after Eurodollar.

More for "petrodollar"

Synonyms Sentences Pronunciation Translate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation Browse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.