methane
/ˈmiːθeɪn//ˈmɛθeɪn/
methane noun: the simplest aliphatic hydrocarbon, CH₄, being a constituent of natural gas, and one of the most abundant greenhouse gases.
Noun
methane (countable and uncountable, plural methanes)
- The simplest aliphatic hydrocarbon, CH₄, being a constituent of natural gas, and one of the most abundant greenhouse gases.
- Cattle emit a large amount of methane.
- Methane, an invisible, odorless gas that makes up more than 95% of natural gas fuel, can be as much as 80 times more potent as a global warmer per given unit than CO₂, which is more plentiful in the atmosphere. While there are less emissions than CO₂, methane lasts around 12 years, while CO₂...2020 April 7, John Fialka, “As CO₂ Emissions Drop During Pandemic, Methane May Rise”, in Scientific American
- Synonyms:
- methyl hydride, carbon tetrahydride
- Any of very many derivatives of methane.
methane meaning in Tamil, Bengali, Punjabi and Tagalog
methane in Tamil
- சாண வாயு, மீதேன் வாயு, மீதேன், மீத்தேன், கொள்ளிவாயு
methane in Bengali
- the compound CH4
- মিথেন mithen
methane in Punjabi
- the compound CH4
- ਮੀਥੇਨ mīthen
methane in Tagalog
- the compound CH4
- istan
More languagesFewer languages
- methane in Malay
- metana
- methane in Indonesian
- metana
- methane in Persian
- متان metân
- methane in Vietnamese
- metan
Examples of methane in a sentence
- A methane molecule is made up of a single carbon with four hydrogens.
- Methane is separated from other hydrocarbons in a gas fractionation plant.
- While life as we know it depends on oxygen, scientists have speculated that alien life forms might breathe chlorine or methane.
Synonyms of methane
- methyl hydride
- carbon tetrahydride
Forms of methane
| plural | methanes |
|---|
Origin of methane
From methyl + -ane.
Words formed from methane
- aminomethane
- azomethane
- azoxymethane
- biomethane
- bromochlorofluoroiodomethane
- bromochlorofluoromethane
- bromochloromethane
- bromodichloromethane
- bromodifluoromethane
- bromofluoromethane
- bromoiodomethane
- bromomethane
- chlorodifluoromethane
- chlorofluoromethane
- chloroiodomethane
- chloromethane
- coalbed methane
- demethanize
- dibromodifluoromethane
- dichlorodifluoromethane
- dichloromethane
- difluoromethane
- diindolylmethane
- diiodomethane
- dimethoxymethane
- diphenylmethane
- fluoroiodomethane
- fluoromethane
- geomethane
- germanomethane
- halomethane
- iodomethane
- methalox
- methanal
- methanation
- methane clathrate
- methane gas
- methane hydrate
- methane ice
- methanelike
- methane rain
- methanesulfonamide
- methanesulfonic acid
- methanethiol
- methanic
- methanide
- methaniferous
- methanium
- methanize
- methano-
- methanogen
- methanogenesis
- methanogenetic
- methanoic
- methanol
- methanolysis
- methanometer
- methanone
- methanosphere
- methanotroph
Phrases with methane
Words that rhyme with methane
Questions about methane
- What does methane mean?
- Methane means the simplest aliphatic hydrocarbon, CH₄, being a constituent of natural gas, and one of the most abundant greenhouse gases.
- What is methane in Tamil?
- Methane in Tamil is சாண வாயு, மீதேன் வாயு, மீதேன். See Methane meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is methane?
- Methane is a noun.
- How do you pronounce methane?
- Methane is pronounced /ˈmiːθeɪn/ (UK).
- What is the plural of methane?
- The plural of methane is methanes.
Words near methane in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: methane (page history and authors); methane (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Tesco250-methane.wav, en-us-methane.ogg.
Cite this entry: “methane.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/methane. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.