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natural gas

American  

noun

  1. a combustible mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons that accumulates in porous sedimentary rocks, especially those yielding petroleum, consisting usually of over 80 percent methane together with minor amounts of ethane, propane, butane, nitrogen, and, sometimes, helium: used as a fuel and to make carbon black, acetylene, and synthesis gas.

natural gas British  

noun

  1. a gaseous mixture consisting mainly of methane trapped below ground; used extensively as a fuel

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
natural gas Scientific  
/ năch′ər-əl /

  1. A mixture of hydrocarbon gases that occurs naturally beneath the Earth's surface, often with or near petroleum deposits. Natural gas contains mostly of methane but also has varying amounts of ethane, propane, butane, and nitrogen. It is used as a fuel and in making organic compounds.

Etymology

Origin of natural gas

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Natural gas at Texas’s Waha hub is trading at negative $7.05 per million British Thermal Units, hitting a record low of negative $9.52 on April 15.

From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026

Natural gas is used by glass manufacturers to run their furnaces, which melt sand, soda ash, limestone and recycled glass into molten glass blobs which are then shaped into bottles.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

Natural gas is already the third-largest energy source used by data centers globally, covering 26 percent of demand, according to International Energy Agency figures.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

Natural gas supplies the bulk of “Iran’s electricity, supports residential heating and cooking, and underpins a significant industrial sector,” said Fernando Ferreira, a geopolitical analyst at Washington-based energy-research firm Rapidan Energy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

Natural gas is used both as a fuel and in manufactures.

From Commercial Geography A Book for High Schools, Commercial Courses, and Business Colleges by Redway, Jacques W. (Jacques Wardlaw)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.