Etymology 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.
Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciencesPhysical 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 lot of gas had escaped from the cylinder.
Turbines have been around for a long time—windmills and water wheels are early examples. The name comes from the Latin turbo, meaning vortex, and thus the defining property of a turbine is that a fluid or gas turns the blades of a rotor, which is attached to a shaft that can perform useful work.2013 July–August, Lee S. Langston, “The Adaptable Gas Turbine”, in American Scientist, archived from the original on 07 Sep 2013:
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Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciencesPhysical 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.
Gas-fired power stations have largely replaced coal-burning ones.
The artillery fired gas shells into the enemy trenches.
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Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciencesPhysical A chemical element or compound in such a state.
The atmosphere is made up of a number of different gases.
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A hob on a gas cooker.
She turned the gas on, put the potatoes on, then lit the oven.
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Methane or other waste gases trapped in one's belly as a result of the digestive process; flatus.
My tummy hurts so bad – I have gas.
But anyone with that many large brown birds aroost in his cranium and that much gas in his bottom was clearly not a well person.2008, Nicholas Drayson, A Guide to the Birds of East Africa, page 72:
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BusinessOften The supply of natural gas, as a utility.
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Dated, Slang A humorous or entertaining event, person, or thing.
Two more girls came in, one in bright pink stretch pants and the other in purple. “Man this place is a gas,” said pink.1963 May, Gloria Steinem, “A Bunny's Tale”, in Show Magazine, archived from the original on 04 Oct 2017:
No it really doesn't matter at all / Life's a gas / I hope it's going to last1971, Marc Bolan, “Life's a Gas”, in Electric Warrior, performed by T. Rex:
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Money, it's a gas. Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash.1973 March 1, “Money” (track 6), in The Dark Side of the Moon, performed by Pink Floyd:
Once I had a love and it was a gas / Soon turned out had a heart of glass1978, “Heart of Glass”, in Parallel Lines, performed by Blondie:
Be a man, Be a man / Belsen was a gas / Be a man, kill someone1979, “Belsen Was a Gas”, in The Great Rock ‛n’ Roll Swindle, performed by Sex Pistols:
One two! I was born in a cross-fire hurricane. And I howled at the maw in the drivin' rain. But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas. But it's all right. I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash. It's a gas, gas, gas.2011 October 11, “Jumping Jack Flash (Live 1973)” (track 14), in Brussels Affair (Live 1973), performed by The Rolling Stones:
Etymology 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.
The Nazis gassed millions of Jews during the Holocaust.
He never fully recovered after he was gassed on the Western Front.
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To use poison gas in (a volume or area) to attack or kill someone or something.
"He's been waiting to jump my brain-bones since I left R&E. I could feel him hammering on the door." She trotted to the nearest wall and knocked on it for emphasis. "But whatever it is that makes us remember the good old days, it also makes us impossible to possess now. That's why Willie and I both woke up, and why Noè never got taken out by Mukami. So all I had to do was open my mind up to the guy, invite him in, then... gas the foyer, as it were."2023 October 14, HarryBlank, “Face Time”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 23 May 2024:
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Slang To talk in a boastful or vapid way; to chatter.
[…] (it was the town's humour to be always gassing of phantom investors who were likely to come any moment and pay a thousand prices for everything) — “[…] Them rich fellers, they don't make no bad breaks with their money. […]”1899, Stephen Crane, chapter 1, in Twelve O'Clock:
"Well don't keep on gassing about it," said Digory.1955, C. S. Lewis, chapter 3, in The Magician's Nephew, Collins, published 1998:
I went shop and the boss man said "Don't pay me it's fine" and I said ...(whaaat): "You ain't gotta gas, I'm gas fam" ( don't gas me), "You ain't gotta gas, I'm gas fam".2018 September 14, “Don't Gas Me” (track 1), in Don't Gas Me, performed by Dizzee Rascal:
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To emit gas.
The battery cell was gassing.
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To impregnate with gas.
to gas lime with chlorine in the manufacture of bleaching powder
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To singe, as in a gas flame, so as to remove loose fibers.
to gas thread
gas
adj
Etymology Clipping of gasoline. Slang forms popularized on TikTok by Gen Z.
Saturday’s tariffs are unlikely to be Trump’s last. The president said himself said in the Oval Office that additional tariffs could come by mid-February on chips, pharmaceuticals, steel, aluminum, copper, oil and gas imports – along with tariffs on the European Union – all threats that few would discount given his willingness to follow through on the North American and China tariffs on Saturday.2025 February 1, Kevin Liptak, “With stiff tariffs he promised now in place, Trump opens a new trade war”, in CNN, archived from the original on 24 Apr 2025:
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Abbreviation, Broadly, Ellipsis Ellipsis of gas pedal; accelerator, throttle.
Gas is the fuel of Ethereum. Gas is not ether–it's a separate virtual currency with its own exchange rate against ether. Ethereum uses gas to control the amount of resources that transactions can use[…]2018, Andreas M. Antonopoulos, Gavin Wood, Mastering Ethereum: Building Smart Contracts and DApps, O'Reilly Media, →ISBN:
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The average “gas fee” – transaction cost – of an Ethereum transaction is between US$85 and US $156, according to crypto.com data.2021 November 6, Ben Butler, “Australian banks are opening up to cryptocurrency: what does it mean for you?”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 10 Dec 2021:
Between 0945 and 1020 six definite explosions were reported in the hangar. Explosions at 0945 and 1006 were described as minor while those at 1002, 1003 and 1005 were classed as major explosions and the explosion at 1020 was described as a heavy explosion but less severe than some previous ones. The cause of these explosions was not reported and can only be estimated from the damage sustained by the ship and the known condition of loading. Each of the six torpedo planes spotted in the hangar was armed with one Mark 13, torpex-loaded torpedo and was fully gassed, including auxiliary wing tanks. Explosions in the hangar therefore might have been either detonations of torpedoes or gasoline vapor explosions.1947 October 30, Bureau of Ships, “SECTION III - DISCUSSION”, in U.S.S. Princeton (CVL23): Loss in Action, Battle for Leyte Gulf, 24 October 1944, United States Hydrographic Office, archived from the original on 25 Jun 2024, B. Fires and Explosions in Hangar., page 8:
The other models were gas fun, though they were all a bit hoity-toity.2016, Liz Nugent, Lying In Wait, →ISBN, page 113:
I went shop and the boss man said "Don't pay me it's fine" and I said ...(whaaat): "You ain't gotta gas, I'm gas fam" ( don't gas me), "You ain't gotta gas, I'm gas fam".2018 September 14, “Don't Gas Me” (track 1), in Don't Gas Me, performed by Dizzy Rascal: