alkane
Americannoun
noun
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Any of a group of hydrocarbons that have carbon atoms in chains linked by single bonds and that have the general formula C n H 2n + 2. Alkanes can be either gaseous, liquid, or solid. They occur naturally in petroleum and natural gas, and include methane, propane and butane.
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Also called paraffin
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◆ The group of alkanes as a whole is called the alkane series or the methane or paraffin series. Its first six members are methane, ethane, propane, butane, pentane, and hexane.
Etymology
Origin of alkane
Vocabulary lists containing alkane
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.
This molecule is now a substituted alkane and will be named as such.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
We call a substituent that contains one less hydrogen than the corresponding alkane an alkyl group.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
Butane, C4H10, used in camping stoves and lighters is an alkane.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
The main source of these liquid alkane fuels is crude oil, a complex mixture that is separated by fractional distillation.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
Melt these together over a slow fire, mixing with them a little powder of alkane root to color it.
From Burroughs' Encyclopaedia of Astounding Facts and Useful Information, 1889 by Barkham Burroughs
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.
