hydrocarbons
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Many hydrocarbons are used as fuels. Some examples of hydrocarbon fuels are the components of gasoline; methane, which is the main ingredient of natural gas; and some components of wood.
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.
"The alternatives for getting cargo, whether that's hydrocarbons or container shipping, are really not great… it is really still troubling times with no clarity and no change of fortunes within sight."
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
“Crude oil” is a collective term for any big batch of hydrocarbons pulled from the ground as a liquid.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Not the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, not the Gulf’s oil-producing Arab monarchies, and not our Indo-Pacific allies, heavily reliant on Middle Eastern hydrocarbons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
“Fifty years from now, people are going to be amazed that we burned these rare, useful hydrocarbons for fuel, when the sun was just sitting up there providing an essentially infinite source of energy.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
Both major types of insecticides, the chlorinated hydrocarbons and the organic phosphates, directly affect the nervous system, although in somewhat different ways.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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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.