Methane is a colourless gas that has no smell. Natural gas consists mostly of methane.
methane in British English
(ˈmiːθeɪn)
noun
a colourless odourless flammable gas, the simplest alkane and the main constituent of natural gas: used as a fuel. Formula: CH4
See also marsh gas, firedamp
Word origin
C19: from meth(yl) + -ane
methane in American English
(ˈmɛθˌeɪn)
noun
a colorless, odorless, flammable, gaseous alkane, CH4, present in natural gas and formed by the decomposition of vegetable matter, as in marshes and mines, or produced artificially by heating carbon monoxide and hydrogen: it is the simplest alkane and is used as a fuel, a source of carbon black, etc.
Methane is a colorless, odorless hydrocarbon gas which has the chemical formula CH₄.
Methane is a colorless, flammable, odorless hydrocarbon gas that is the major component ofnatural gas.
Methane is the primary ingredient of natural gas, and its chemical formula is CH₄.
Methane is a colorless, odorless hydrocarbon gas which has the chemical formula CH₄.
Examples of 'methane' in a sentence
methane
This results in less methane being produced.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The truck runs on methane gas produced from rotting landfill.
The Sun (2008)
But what sort of human activities produce methane?
Fisher, David E. Fire and Ice - the Greenhouse Effect, Ozone Depletion, and Nuclear Winter (1990)
An elephant gut produces enough methane in a day to fill a weather balloon.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
What caused it was the runaway release of methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from geological reservoirs.
The Times Literary Supplement (2014)
If this methane is produced by a biological source, there are a range of possible habitats for the microbes.
The Sun (2009)
The discovery is alarming as both carbon dioxide and methane are greenhouse gases, with methane being far more potent.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The other half mostly came out of the back ends of cattle in the form of wind and muck, which produces methane and nitrous oxide.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Studies of the Red Planet are said to have detected methane gas.
The Sun (2009)
Coal seam gas, or coal bed methane, has for centuries been an explosive hazard for miners.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
This means the bacteria cannot digest the waste completely so, instead of just producing carbon dioxide they produce methane, the main constituent of naturalgas.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Word lists with
methane
Types of gas
In other languages
methane
British English: methane NOUN
Methane is a colourless gas that has no smell. Natural gas consists mostly of methane.