butane

[byoo-teyn, byoo-teyn]

noun Chemistry.

a colorless, flammable gas, C4H10, a saturated aliphatic existing in two isometric forms: used chiefly in the manufacture of rubber and as fuel.

Origin of butane

First recorded in 1870–75; but(yl) + -ane

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for butane

Contemporary Examples of butane

Butane purchased at a hardware store often contains chemicals like benzene, which is known to cause cancer.
Hey Buddy, Wanna Dab? Inside The Mainstream Explosion of Cannabis Concentrates
Valerie Vande Panne
December 21, 2013
Recently, at a pot-centered radio program, someone offered me a “dab” of butane honey oil (BHO)—a concentrated form of cannabis.
Hey Buddy, Wanna Dab? Inside The Mainstream Explosion of Cannabis Concentrates
Valerie Vande Panne
December 21, 2013
Unable to afford electricity, butane, or propane, the students, like their neighbors, relied on wood for their cooking.
Claremont McKenna Students Try Life on $1 a Day in ‘Living on One’
Robert Bryce
October 3, 2012

Historical Examples of butane

Now they heat and cook with butane or electricity which comes from Silver City.
The Pinos Altos Story
Dorothy Watson

British Dictionary definitions for butane

butane

noun

a colourless flammable gaseous alkane that exists in two isomeric forms, both of which occur in natural gas. The stable isomer, n -butane, is used mainly in the manufacture of rubber and fuels (such as Calor Gas). Formula: C 4 H 10

Word Origin for butane

C19: from but (yl) + -ane

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

Word Origin and History for butane

paraffin hydrocarbon, 1875, from butyl, hydrocarbon from butyric acid, a product of fermentation found in rancid butter, from Latin butyrum (see butter (n.)) + chemical suffix -ane.

butane in Medicine

butane

[byōō′tān′]

n.

Either of two isomers of a gaseous hydrocarbon produced synthetically from petroleum and used as a refrigerant, as a aerosol propellant, and in the manufacture of synthetic rubber.

butane in Science

butane

[byōō′tān′]

An organic compound found in natural gas and produced from petroleum. Butane is used as a household fuel, refrigerant, and propellant in aerosol cans. It is the fourth member of the alkane series. Chemical formula: C4H10.