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petrostate

British

/ ˈpɛtrəˌsteɪt /

noun

derogatory a small oil-rich country in which institutions are weak and wealth and power are concentrated in the hands of a few

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Though Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, the petrostate today pumps less than 1% of global crude supplies and much of its production capacity and infrastructure is unfit for purpose.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 5, 2026

“I think the anger, to be righteous in nature, has to be directed at the bad actors who have blocked climate progress: fossil fuel executives and petrostate authoritarians,” Mann said.

From Salon • Oct. 22, 2024

No sign here that the country has become a premier-league petrostate.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2024

Those from Sheikh Nawaf’s lifetime, born before oil fully transformed Kuwait from a trading hub into a petrostate, have been fading away with age.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 16, 2023

Ten years earlier, Venezuela, a petrostate under the presidency of Hugo Chávez, witnessed a bust in oil prices.

From Slate • Aug. 25, 2021

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023