petrodollars [pe-troh-dol-erz] EXAMPLES|WORD ORIGIN plural noun surplus revenues in dollars accumulated by petroleum-exporting countries, as those of the Middle East, especially when then used for foreign loans or investments. Liberaldictionary.com
Origin of petrodollars 1970–75; petro-2 + dollars Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019 Examples from the Web for petrodollar Contemporary Examples of petrodollar
This same ideology was exported out of Saudi Arabia by the power of the petrodollar.
Saudi Activist Manal Al-Sharif on Why She Removed the Veil
Manal Al Sharif, Advancing Human Rights
October 30, 2014
They have spent every petrodollar they got, neglecting investment in favor of other projects.
Fracking is Pitting OPEC Members Against Each Other. It Couldn’t Happen to a Nicer Bunch of Cartel Members.
Megan McArdle
May 29, 2013
British Dictionary definitions for petrodollar petrodollar noun money, paid in dollars, earned by a country for the exporting of petroleum 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 Word Origin and History for petrodollar n.
1974, “surplus of petroleum exports over imports of all other goods,” as a notational unit of currency (in reference to OPEC nations), formed in English from petro- (2) + dollar.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper