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petrol station

petrol station

3 1.0
A place where you buy petrol and fill your car
  • noun
  • /ˈpɛtrəl ˈsteɪʃən/
  • UK
translation icon : gasolinera
  • I stopped at a petrol station to fill up my car before the long drive.

And you just like I'll get a sandwich at the petrol station.

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Examples

  • The action takes place at a petrol station.

    Blog text (1)
  • Dave gave me a ride to a petrol station just outside of town; a light rain had begun, but it seemed like a great spot to catch a ride.

    Blog text (5)
  • That should get you to the next petrol station.

  • Dad had a petrol station.

  • Their tanks can stop for fuel at a petrol station.

  • I turn into the petrol station, hoping to lose the screaming blue vehicle.

    Blog text (1)
  • Well along the highway, she remembered she had not left a note and turned off at a petrol station to telephone her office.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • He works at a petrol station.

  • Eventually we do stop for gas, but at a petrol station where the tankers are still unloading their cargo of oil.

    Academic text (2006)
  • The fuel shortage has worsened, as evidenced by the queues of cars at petrol stations.

    Blog text (22)

Synonyms

gas station
vspetrol station
  • US
194 1.0

A place where people buy fuel for cars and small items

focuses on fuel sales and refuelling without stressing retail services
service station
vspetrol station
12 1.8

A place where people fill cars with fuel and get small repairs

is mainly for selling and refuelling rather than vehicle repair
filling station
vspetrol station
  • UK
7 1.4

A place where people buy fuel for cars and trucks

focuses on selling and refuelling rather than offering repairs
gasoline station
vspetrol station
  • US
3 1.2

A place where people buy fuel for cars and other vehicles

sells various vehicle fuels rather than mainly one specific type

How Big

depot
62 3.3
truck stop
  • US
34 2.7
petrol station
  • UK
3 1.0
island dispenser
  • Specialized
8.6

Surface Forms

petrol station singular
gas stations plural
gas station singular

Morphology

petrol + station

The meaning 'a place where petrol is sold and vehicles are refueled' follows directly from combining 'petrol' (fuel) and 'station' (a place/building providing a service), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the compound meaning. This noun–noun composition is a common, cross-linguistic pattern (e.g., 'gas station', 'station-service'), making the expression transparently compositional and immediately comprehensible.

Etymology

The name petrol station comes from the early days of cars. People used station to mean a fixed 'place' that gives a service, and petrol is the British word for 'gasoline', so a petrol station is literally a place to buy fuel and fill up a car.