Oxygen is a colourless gas that exists in large quantities in the air. All plants and animals need oxygen in order to live.
The human brain needs to be without oxygen for only four minutes before permanentdamage occurs.
oxygen in British English
(ˈɒksɪdʒən)
noun
a.
a colourless odourless highly reactive gaseous element: the most abundant element in the earth's crust (49.2 per cent). It is essential for aerobic respiration and almost all combustion and is widely used in industry. Symbol: O; atomic no: 8; atomic wt: 15.9994; valency: 2; density: 1.429 kg/m3; melting pt: –218.79°C; boiling pt: –182.97°C
b.
(as modifier)
an oxygen mask
Derived forms
oxygenic (ˌɒksɪˈdʒɛnɪk) or oxygenous (ɒkˈsɪdʒɪnəs)
adjective
oxygen in American English
(ˈɑksɪdʒən)
noun
a colorless, odorless, tasteless, gaseous chemical element that occurs free in the atmosphere, forming one fifth of its volume, and in combination in water, sandstone, limestone, etc.: it is very active, combines with nearly all other elements, is the most common element in the earth's crust, and is essential to life processes and to combustion:symbol, O; at. no., 8
Derived forms
oxygenic (ˌoxyˈgenic) (ˈɑksɪˈdʒɛnɪk)
adjective or oxˈygenous (ɑkˈsɪdʒənəs)
Word origin
Fr oxygène, altered (1786) < earlier oxygine, lit., acid-producing: so named (1777) by Lavoisier < Gr oxys (see oxy-2) + L gignere, to beget (see genus): from the belief that oxygen is present in all acids
Examples of 'oxygen' in a sentence
oxygen
He or she would still need to breathe oxygen from a portable tank.
Smithsonian Mag (2017)
They cut his clothes open and covered him in electrodes and gave him an oxygen mask.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
She was taken away on a stretcher with an oxygen mask on.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
They carry oxygen and a gas and air mix for pain relief.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The next thing you know he was being carried off with an oxygen mask strapped on his face.
The Sun (2016)
It's like when they say on an aircraft that you should put on your oxygen mask before you attend to others.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
At the core, the blood picks up masses of oxygen and nutrients, since the body is reacting as if it is in serious distress.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
One man was given oxygen but there were no other casualties.
The Sun (2013)
What keeps us alive is the gas oxygen.
Radford, Tim & Leggett, Jeremy The Crisis of Life on Earth - our legacy from the second millenium (1990)
There was a bit of noise and the oxygen masks came down.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The leaner the muscle gets the more it needs oxygen.
Holford, Patrick The Family Nutrition Workbook (1988)
Think of it as a battery that is constantly charged by feeding it with hydrogen and oxygen.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
You may need to bring a tent and oxygen.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Might as well ask them to give up oxygen.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
We carry oxygen tanks and gas detectors which detect noxious gases and low oxygen.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The fumes often force pilots and crew to wear oxygen masks.
The Sun (2013)
The air is so thin here you need an oxygen tank to breathe.
Christianity Today (2000)
They contain bright red blood that is rich in oxygen and nutrients.
Petch, Dr Michael BMA Family Doctor Guide - Heart Disease (1989)
They said they would set me up with an oxygen tent at home to sleep in.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
He was given oxygen by medical staff before walking unaided to an ambulance.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Fuel cells make electric power by combining hydrogen with oxygen and harnessing the current that results from the reaction.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
As tumours grow and expand the blood vessels delivering oxygen and essential nutrients to their cells increasingly become weak.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The brain uses about 20 per cent of the oxygen taken up by the lungs.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
So we get only 30 per cent of the oxygen we could do with.
The Sun (2010)
I had oxygen, gas and air and it made me feel really weird.
The Sun (2010)
Word lists with
oxygen
chemical, Types of gas
In other languages
oxygen
British English: oxygen /ˈɒksɪdʒən/ NOUN
Oxygen is a colourless gas in the air which is needed by all plants and animals.