natural gas

Noun

natural gas (countable and uncountable, plural natural gases)

1. A mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons associated with petroleum deposits; mostly methane with smaller amounts of ethane, propane and butane; principally used as a fuel.
   • For a good many years, beginning in London, Brighton & South Coast days, the station at Heathfield, between Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne, was lighted by natural gas. The use of this illuminant was discontinued about 1934.1946 July and August, “The Why and The Wherefore: Natural Gas at Heathfield”, in Railway Magazine, page 263
   • Natural gas is an odorless, colorless gas from inside the Earth. When burned, it provides abundant heat to homes and businesses around the United States and the world.2010, Kelly Swanson, Human Geography, page 169

   Synonyms:

   NG