A jar of gasoline

Gasoline or petrol  is a clear but slightly yellowish petroleum-derived liquid mixture which is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It is also used as a solvent, mainly known for its ability to dilute paints. It consists mostly of aliphatic hydrocarbons obtained by the fractional distillation ofpetroleum, enhanced with iso-octane or the aromatic hydrocarbons toluene and benzene to increase its octane rating. Small quantities of various additives are common, for purposes such as tuning engine performance or reducing harmful exhaust emissions. Some mixtures also contain significant quantities of ethanol as a partialalternative fuel. Most current or former Commonwealth countries (excluding Canada) use the term petrol. In North America, the substance is called gasoline, a term often shortened in colloquial usage to gas. It is not a genuinely gaseous fuel (unlike, for example, liquefied petroleum gas, which is stored under pressure as a liquid, but returned to a gaseous state before combustion). The term petrogasoline is also used.

Old gasoline pumps, Norway

The term mogas, short for motor gasoline, is used to distinguish automobile fuel from aviation gasoline, or avgas. In British English, gasoline can refer to a different petroleum derivative historically used in lamps, but this usage is relatively uncommon.