hydrocarbon

[ hahy-druh-kahr-buhn, hahy-druh-kahr- ]

/ ˌhaɪ drəˈkɑr bən, ˈhaɪ drəˌkɑr- /

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noun

any of a class of compounds containing only hydrogen and carbon, as an alkane, methane, CH4, an alkene, ethylene, C2H4, an alkyne, acetylene, C2H2, or an aromatic compound, benzene, C6H6.

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Origin of hydrocarbon

First recorded in 1820–30; hydro-² + carbon

OTHER WORDS FROM hydrocarbon

hy·dro·car·bo·na·ceous, adjective

Words nearby hydrocarbon

hydrobiology, hydrobomb, hydrobromic, hydrobromic acid, hydrobromide, hydrocarbon, hydrocarbons, hydrocast, hydrocele, hydrocellulose, hydrocephalic

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

How to use hydrocarbon in a sentence

Canada’s oilsands are especially dirtyFossil fuels are hydrocarbons, which is just the chemical term for a molecule made up of hydrogen and carbon.
Keystone XL was supposed to be a green pipeline. What does that even mean?|Juliet Grable|February 5, 2021|Popular-Science
The process produces hydrocarbon gases too, which could be used to generate heat to run the reaction at a recycling plant, Scott says.
Chemists are reimagining recycling to keep plastics out of landfills|Maria Temming|January 27, 2021|Science News
The resulting hydrocarbon molecules can serve as a jet fuel.
A new catalyst turns greenhouse gas into jet fuel|Maria Temming|January 27, 2021|Science News For Students
The fossil fuels they burn to create all these emissions are hydrocarbons, which means they are made up of a combination of carbon and hydrogen.
Scientists Just Created a Catalyst That Turns CO2 Into Jet Fuel|Edd Gent|January 3, 2021|Singularity Hub

There are many good alternatives now to burning fossilized hydrocarbons.
Why Birds Can Fly Over Mount Everest - Issue 94: Evolving|Walter Murch|December 30, 2020|Nautilus
The allegation concerns hydrocarbon releases from the wastewater system at the unloading facility.
Oil Tankers Leaking into Seattle’s Water|Bill Conroy|October 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Its offshore territory is part of the hydrocarbon-rich Levant Basin.
Israel Looks to Eurasia to Achieve Top Energy and National Security Goals|Allison Good|October 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The hydrocarbon bonanza in the United States gives Obama a significant opportunity.
A Foreign-Policy Cheat Sheet for Obama|Martin Indyk|January 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
That horizontal segment allows the well to have far greater exposure to the hydrocarbon reservoir.
Both Candidates Push Myth of Energy Independence|Robert Bryce|November 1, 2012|DAILY BEAST
In Denmark, the poster child for wind power, neither carbon dioxide emissions nor hydrocarbon consumption have been reduced.
A Centrist Gets Fighting Mad|Mark McKinnon|October 13, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Chemically, the camphors may be divided into two main groups, according to the nature of the corresponding hydrocarbon or terpene.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2|Various
One of the chemical compounds here indicated is a hydrocarbon similar to that found in comets.
A Text-Book of Astronomy|George C. Comstock
Hence it is a hydrocarbon of the terpene series, having the general formula CnH2n-4.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 460, October 25, 1884|Various
The undissolved hydrocarbon is similarly purified by fractional distillation, and furnishes the solid crystalline naphthalene.
Coal|Raphael Meldola
The greater portion of the hydrocarbon is contained in the carbolic oil, and is separated and purified in the manner described.
Coal|Raphael Meldola

British Dictionary definitions for hydrocarbon

hydrocarbon

/ (ˌhaɪdrəʊˈkɑːbən) /

noun

any organic compound containing only carbon and hydrogen, such as the alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, terpenes, and arenes

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 hydrocarbon

hydrocarbon

[ hī′drə-kär′bən ]

Any of numerous organic compounds, such as benzene, that contain only carbon and hydrogen.