alkene

[ al-keen ]

nounChemistry.

any member of the alkene series.

Origin of alkene

First recorded in 1895–1900; alk(yl) + -ene

Words Nearby alkene

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

British Dictionary definitions for alkene

alkene

/ (ˈælkiːn) /

noun

- Also called: olefine, olefin any unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbon with the general formula C n H 2 n
- Also called: olefine (as modifier): alkene series

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

Scientific definitions for alkene

alkene

[ ăl′kēn′ ]

Any of a group of unsaturated hydrocarbons that have carbon atoms in chains linked by one or more double bonds and that have the general formula CnH2n. Lighter alkenes, such as ethylene, are derived from petroleum by cracking. Also called olefin♦ The group of alkenes as a whole is called the alkene series or the ethylene series. Its first five members are ethylene (or ethene), propylene (or propene), butylene (or butene), pentene, and hexene.

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