firedamp
a combustible gas consisting chiefly of methane, formed especially in coal mines, and dangerously explosive when mixed with certain proportions of atmospheric air.
the explosive mixture itself.
Origin of firedamp
1Words Nearby firedamp
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use firedamp in a sentence
An example of a hydrocarbon or compound of carbon and hydrogen, is marsh gas (methane) or firedamp, CH4.
The Chemistry of Hat Manufacturing | Watson SmithAs well might the vapours of the swamp be purified by filling it with the firedamp.
Mr. Crotchet, jun.—I hope, Mr. firedamp, you will let your friendship carry you a little closer into the jaws of the lion.
Crotchet Castle | Thomas Love PeacockNext to her is Mr. firedamp, a very absurd person, who thinks that water is the evil principle.
Crotchet Castle | Thomas Love PeacockProceeding to the edge of the moat, they fished up Mr. firedamp, who had missed his way back, and tumbled in.
Crotchet Castle | Thomas Love Peacock
British Dictionary definitions for firedamp
/ (ˈfaɪəˌdæmp) /
a mixture of hydrocarbons, chiefly methane, formed in coal mines. It forms explosive mixtures with air: See also afterdamp
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
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