propellant
Americannoun
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a propelling agent.
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the charge of explosive used to propel the projectile from a gun.
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a substance, usually a mixture of fuel and oxidizer, for propelling a rocket.
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a compressed inert gas that serves to dispense the contents of an aerosol container when the pressure is released.
noun
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something that provides or causes propulsion, such as the explosive charge in a gun or the fuel in a rocket
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the gas used to carry the liquid droplets in an aerosol spray
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of propellant
Explanation
A propellant is a force or substance that drives something else forward. Your model rocket needs a propellant, or a fuel to push it into the air. You might use something as simple as vinegar and baking soda. Space rockets use solid or liquid propellants, or fuel. Propellant derives from the word propel, which means to drive something forward with force. A propellant can be fuel, or the explosive charge that pushes a bullet out of a gun. Gases used to propel can be called "propellant gases" and might be stored in a "propellant tank." Note that some dictionaries accept the variant spelling propellent.
Vocabulary lists containing propellant
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for August 27–September 2, 2022
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October Sky
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Selection Vocabulary 2, Unit 6
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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 U.S. currently has only one propellant factory, a World War II-era plant in southern Virginia, and none has been built since the early 1970s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
At a third factory, housed in renovated Cold War-era buildings in a forest populated with deer, women with long painted nails assemble tiny components for igniters, which trigger the guncotton in the propellant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Much of that additional mass comes from the hardware required for complete reusability, including heat shield tiles, landing propellant, structural reinforcements, and other recovery systems.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
Experts at the time said they believed it was most likely a fuel tank or bladder tank containing hydrazine - a highly volatile propellant - from an unmanned rocket.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
“Next time we fly will be with a new propellant: zinc dust and sulfur. We’re going for maximum altitude.”
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
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.
