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Glite Dictionary
leaded petrol

leaded petrol

5.8
Fuel that contains a small amount of lead to stop engine knocking
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : gasolina con plomo
  • Cars manufactured before the 1990s often required leaded petrol for their engines to run smoothly.

Examples

  • The use of leaded petrol was phased out in many countries due to environmental concerns.

  • Studies linked the widespread use of leaded petrol to increased levels of lead pollution in cities.

  • Many cars still use leaded petrol.

  • The use of leaded petrol is banned in most countries.

  • Cars manufactured before the 1990s often required leaded petrol to run smoothly.

  • The use of leaded petrol was phased out in many countries to protect the environment.

  • Studies have shown that leaded petrol contributes to lead pollution in urban areas.

Synonyms

leaded gasoline
vsleaded petrol
  • Archaic
1 6.5

Gasoline with lead added to reduce engine knocking but harms health

means the same but does not include the note about modern phase out

Antonyms

unleaded petrol
  • UK
2.5

Petrol without added lead used to fuel cars

Surface Forms

leaded petrol singular
leaded petrels plural
leaded gasolines plural
leaded gasoline singular

Morphology

leaded + petrol

This is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'leaded' means containing lead and 'petrol' means fuel, so the combined meaning 'petrol containing lead' is directly derivable from the parts. The structure and semantics are regular and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words will understand it.

Etymology

The term leaded petrol comes from the old practice of adding small amounts of the metal lead to petrol to stop engines from 'knocking'. So the name simply means petrol with lead in it, and people stopped using it because the lead caused 'pollution' and health problems.