# gas

Pronunciation: say "GAS" /ɡæs/

## Noun

1. Gasoline, the light petroleum-based liquid that is burned as fuel. *(Canada, New Zealand, Philippines, US)*
   - Simple: The liquid fuel that cars and many other vehicles burn in their engines.
   - _The car was nearly out of gas by the time they reached the exit._
   - _Gas prices spiked after the refinery shut down._
2. A flammable gas, especially natural gas, burned as fuel for cooking, heating, and power, or the supply of it piped to homes and businesses.
   - Simple: A gas burned for cooking, heating, or power, or the supply of it to a home.
   - _The new power plant burns gas to generate electricity for the region._
   - _She smelled gas in the kitchen and opened the windows before checking the stove._
3. The state of matter, like that of air or steam, that has no fixed shape or volume and spreads to fill any space, or a substance such as oxygen in that state.
   - Simple: A substance like air that has no fixed shape and spreads out to fill any space.
   - _Oxygen is a colorless, odorless gas essential to most life on Earth._
   - _Volcanoes release several gases, including sulfur dioxide and water vapor._
4. A poisonous substance in gaseous form, especially one used as a weapon in war.
   - Simple: A poisonous substance in the air that can hurt or kill people who breathe it.
   - _Both sides used gas during the First World War, with horrific casualties._
   - _The crowd scattered as gas drifted across the square, stinging eyes and throats._
5. Air and gases formed during digestion that collect in the stomach or intestines, causing bloating or passed out of the body; flatus.
   - Simple: Air that builds up in your stomach or gut as you digest food, and may come out as burps or farts.
   - _He skipped the broccoli because it always gives him gas._
   - _Carbonated drinks made her bloated and full of gas on the flight._
6. Short for gas pedal: the accelerator, the pedal a driver presses to make a vehicle go faster. *(US, Canada)* — Ellipsis of gas pedal; accelerator, throttle.
   - Simple: Short for gas pedal: the pedal you press to make a car go faster.
   - _She eased off the gas as the curve approached._
   - _He stomped on the gas to pass the slow-moving truck._
14. Marijuana, typically of high quality. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Marijuana, especially the strong kind that users see as top quality.
   - _The dispensary's top shelf is reserved for gas that sells out by Friday._
   - _He rolled up some gas he had been saving since his birthday._
15. A burner on a gas stove or cooktop.
   - Simple: A burner on a gas stove, where the flame heats the pot.
   - _She set the milk on the gas and watched so it wouldn't scorch._
   - _She left the stew simmering on the gas while she set the table._
17. Frothy or boastful talk; idle chatter. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Talk that is mostly bragging or empty words.
   - _Investors finally saw through the founder's gas._
   - _All that gas about record profits hid a company in real trouble._
20. A substance inhaled during medical treatment to dull pain or make the patient unconscious, notably nitrous oxide as given by dentists or to women in labor.
   - Simple: Something you breathe in during treatment to lessen pain or make you sleep, especially at the dentist.
   - _Nervous patients can ask for gas before the dentist starts drilling._
   - _Midway through labor, she switched from gas to an epidural._

## Verb

7. To fill a vehicle's fuel tank with gasoline or other fuel. *(US)*
   - Simple: To fill a car or other vehicle with fuel.
   - _Gas up before you cross the desert; stations are scarce out there._
   - _They gassed the rental car up on the way back to the airport._
8. To attack, injure, or kill people or animals with poison gas, or to fill a place with it for that purpose.
   - Simple: To hurt or kill people or animals with poison gas.
   - _Exterminators sometimes gas rodent colonies that tunnel under airport runways._
   - _Thousands of soldiers were gassed in the trenches during the First World War._
9. To use up one's energy and end up exhausted and winded, especially in a fight or game; often used in the form gassed. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To run out of energy and get tired and out of breath, mostly in a fight or game. Often said as "gassed."
   - _The challenger came out swinging but started to gas by the fourth round._
   - _Our team gassed in the second half and gave up three easy baskets in a row._
10. To emit or release gas.
   - Simple: To give off gas.
   - _Lead-acid batteries gas when they are overcharged, releasing hydrogen._
   - _The sealed drum had been gassing for weeks before anyone noticed the bulge._
11. To impregnate or charge something with gas.
   - Simple: To fill something with gas.
   - _To keep the meat looking red, the trays are gassed with a mix of oxygen and carbon dioxide before sealing._
   - _Many breweries gas their empty kegs with carbon dioxide to push out oxygen before filling them._
12. To feed more fuel to a vehicle's engine so that it speeds up. *(US)*
   - Simple: To press a car's pedal to make it go faster.
   - _When the light turned green, she gassed it and pulled ahead of the bus._
   - _Don't gas the engine while it's still warming up._
18. To chatter, or to talk in a bragging or empty-headed way. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To talk a lot about unimportant things, or to brag.
   - _He'd rather gas about his big plans than start the actual work._
   - _The salesmen sat around the lobby, gassing about their best deals._

## Adjective

13. Of high quality; excellent. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Very good or excellent.
   - _The first half of the album is gas, but it loses steam after that._
   - _Everyone said the trailer was gas, and the movie actually lived up to it._
16. Comical or zany; amusing and great fun. *(slang, Ireland)*
   - Simple: Very funny or a lot of fun.
   - _My grandmother is gas once she gets going on her old stories._
   - _The whole night out was gas, from the karaoke to the late-night diner._

## Noun

19. An event, person, or thing that is humorous or entertaining. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A person, thing, or event that is a lot of fun.
   - _The whole weekend was a gas. Nobody wanted it to end._
   - _Back in the sixties, those late-night radio shows were a real gas._

## Other meanings

- (noun) An arterial or venous blood gas; a measurement of the gases dissolved in a blood sample.
- (noun) A unit measuring the computational effort needed to carry out an operation on the Ethereum network, paid for in ether as a fee.
- (noun) A fastball, especially one thrown at high speed.
- (verb) To deceive or take advantage of someone through boastful talk.
- (verb) To singe yarn or fabric, as in a gas flame, so as to remove loose surface fibers.

## Origin

**Meanings 2–5, 8, 10–11, 15, 17–20** — English borrowed Dutch gas, a word coined by the chemist Jan Baptist van Helmont, who used it in his Latin writings before his death in 1644. He based it on Ancient Greek χάος (kháos), a word for "chasm, void, empty space," perhaps also with geest ("breath, vapor, spirit") in mind. Gas and chaos are doublets.
**Meanings 1, 6–7, 9, 12–14** — A clipping of 'gasoline'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/gas (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).