white damp

American  

noun

1. a poisonous coal-mine gas composed chiefly of carbon monoxide.

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Etymology

Origin of white damp

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

white damp

On the white, damp wall of the Yahidne school basement is a crude calendar, drawn in red crayon.

From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2022

You know, it is a product of combustion, and is very deadly—it is the much-dreaded white damp or afterdamp of a mine explosion.

From The Silent Bullet by Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve

None of these men, however, had to withstand the effects of white damp in the air; on the other hand, none of them had any supply of food, however small, to begin with.

From The Boy With the U.S. Miners by Francis Rolt-Wheeler

Haven't you got sense enough to see what would happen as soon as you drove a hole through big enough to let the white damp in and not big enough to get the men out?

From The Boy With the U.S. Miners by Francis Rolt-Wheeler

Across the length of the hall she saw nothing now but that thin, slouching figure, the gestures of those nervous, flexible hands, that white, damp face, with its crooked eyebrows and smile.

From What Not A Prophetic Comedy by Dame Rose Macaulay