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gas.

Matter in an intermediate state between liquid and plasma that can be contained only if it is fully surrounded by a solid (or in a bubble of liquid, or held together by gravitational pull); it can condense into a liquid, or can (rarely) become a solid directly by deposition.

3 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ɡæs/General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ɡɛəs//ɡæz/regional/ɡɛəz/regional
  1. Matter in an intermediate state between liquid and plasma that can be contained only if it is fully surrounded by a solid (or in a bubble of liquid, or held together by gravitational pull); it can condense into a liquid, or can (rarely) become a solid directly by deposition.

    physical · uncountable
    A lot of gas had escaped from the cylinder.
  2. Matter in an intermediate state between liquid and plasma that can be contained only if it is fully surrounded by a solid (or in a bubble of liquid, or held together by gravitational pull); it can condense into a liquid, or can (rarely) become a solid directly by deposition. A flammable gaseous hydrocarbon or hydrocarbon mixture used as a fuel, e.g. for cooking, heating, electricity generation or as a fuel in internal combustion engines in vehicles, especially natural gas.

    physical · uncountable
    Gas-fired power stations have largely replaced coal-burning ones.
  3. Matter in an intermediate state between liquid and plasma that can be contained only if it is fully surrounded by a solid (or in a bubble of liquid, or held together by gravitational pull); it can condense into a liquid, or can (rarely) become a solid directly by deposition. Poison gas.

    physical · uncountable
    The artillery fired gas shells into the enemy trenches.
  4. A chemical element or compound in such a state.

    countable · physical
    The atmosphere is made up of a number of different gases.
  5. A hob on a gas cooker.

    countable
    She turned the gas on, put the potatoes on, then lit the oven.
  6. Methane or other waste gases trapped in one's belly as a result of the digestive process; flatus.

    uncountable
    My tummy hurts so bad – I have gas.
  7. The supply of natural gas, as a utility.

    attributive · countable · often · uncountable
  8. A humorous or entertaining event, person, or thing.

    countable · dated · slang · uncountable
  9. Frothy or boastful talk; chatter.

    countable · slang · uncountable
  10. A fastball.

    countable · uncountable
    The closer threw him nothing but gas.
  11. Arterial or venous blood gas.

    colloquial · countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂-der. Ancient Greek χαῦνος (khaûnos) Ancient Greek χάος (kháos)der. Dutch gasbor. English gas Borrowed from Dutch gas, coined by chemist Jan Baptist van Helmont in Ortus Medicinae. Derived from Ancient Greek χάος (kháos, “chasm, void, empty space”); perhaps also inspired by geest (“breath, vapour, spirit”). Doublet of chaos. First attested in 1648.

verb/ɡæs/General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ɡɛəs//ɡæz/regional/ɡɛəz/regional
  1. To attack or kill with poison gas.

    transitive
    The Nazis gassed millions of Jews during the Holocaust.
    He never fully recovered after he was gassed on the Western Front.
  2. To use poison gas in (a volume or area) to attack or kill someone or something.

    transitive
  3. To talk in a boastful or vapid way; to chatter.

    intransitive · slang
  4. To impose upon by talking boastfully.

    slang · transitive
  5. To emit gas.

    intransitive
    The battery cell was gassing.
  6. To impregnate with gas.

    transitive
    to gas lime with chlorine in the manufacture of bleaching powder
  7. To singe, as in a gas flame, so as to remove loose fibers.

    transitive
    to gas thread
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂-der. Ancient Greek χαῦνος (khaûnos) Ancient Greek χάος (kháos)der. Dutch gasbor. English gas Borrowed from Dutch gas, coined by chemist Jan Baptist van Helmont in Ortus Medicinae. Derived from Ancient Greek χάος (kháos, “chasm, void, empty space”); perhaps also inspired by geest (“breath, vapour, spirit”). Doublet of chaos. First attested in 1648.

noun/ɡæs/General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ɡɛəs//ɡæz/regional/ɡɛəz/regional
  1. Gasoline, a light derivative of petroleum used as fuel.

    Canada · New-Zealand · Philippines · US · uncountable
  2. Ellipsis of gas pedal; accelerator, throttle.

    abbreviation · alt-of · broadly · ellipsis · uncountable
  3. An internal virtual currency used in Ethereum to pay for certain operations, such as blockchain transactions.

    uncountable
    gas fee
  4. Marijuana, typically of high quality.

    slang · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Clipping of gasoline. Slang forms popularized on TikTok by Gen Z.

verb/ɡæs/General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ɡɛəs//ɡæz/regional/ɡɛəz/regional
  1. To increase the fuel flow to a vehicle's engine in order to accelerate it.

    US
    The cops are coming. Gas it!
  2. To fill (a vehicle's fuel tank) with fuel.

    US
Where this word comes from

Clipping of gasoline. Slang forms popularized on TikTok by Gen Z.

adj/ɡæs/General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ɡɛəs//ɡæz/regional/ɡɛəz/regional
  1. Of high quality.

    slang · uncountable
    This food is gas.
Where this word comes from

Clipping of gasoline. Slang forms popularized on TikTok by Gen Z.

adj/ɡæs/General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ɡɛəs//ɡæz/regional/ɡɛəz/regional
  1. Comical, zany; fun, amusing.

    slang
    Mary's new boyfriend is a gas man.
    It was gas when the bird flew into the classroom.
Where this word comes from

Compare the slang usage of "a gas", above.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.