Word
methane
Phoneticsmeth·ane
US/ˈmɛˌθeɪn/
UK/mˈiːθeɪn/
Definition
n. a gas that has no smell or colour and burns easily. It is the main part of natural gas and is a powerful greenhouse gas.
n. the simplest aliphatic hydrocarbon, CH₄, occurring naturally as a constituent of natural gas and acting as a significant greenhouse gas. Uncountable in general usage.
Examples
“Cows produce methane when they digest grass.”
“The factory released methane into the air during the repair work.”
“Scientists worry that warming oceans will release trapped methane, which would speed up climate change even more.”
Examples
simple
“Cows produce methane when they digest grass.”
contextual
“The factory released methane into the air during the repair work.”
complex
“Scientists worry that warming oceans will release trapped methane, which would speed up climate change even more.”
Usage
Usually uncountable when referring to the gas itself.
Teaching tip
While methane is odourless, gas companies add a chemical to natural gas so that people can smell leaks.
Real-World Examples
“As ruminants digest feed, they release methane—through burps.” “However, as more calves survived, the herd produced more beef but also more enteric methane in total.” Etymology
From methyl + -ane.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Synonyms
Word family
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/methane