ɡæs n. & v. --n. (pl. gases) 1
any airlike
substance which moves freely to
fill any
space available,
irrespective of
its quantity. 2 a
such a substance (esp. found
naturally or extracted
from coal) used as a
domestic or
industrial fuel (also attrib. : gas
cooker; gas fire). b an
explosive mixture of
firedamp with air. 3
nitrous oxide or
another gas used as an
anaesthetic (esp. in dentistry). 4 a gas or
vapour used as a poisonous
agent to
disable an
enemy in
warfare. 5 US colloq.
petrol,
gasoline. 6 sl.
pointless idle talk; boasting. 7 sl. an
enjoyable,
attractive, or amusing
thing or
person. --v. (gases, gassed, gassing) 1 tr.
expose to gas,
esp. to
kill or
make unconscious. 2 intr.
give off gas. 3 tr. (usu. foll. by up) US colloq. fill (the
tank of a
motor vehicle) with petrol. 4 intr. colloq. talk idly or boastfully. øgas
chamber an
airtight chamber
that can be filled with poisonous gas to kill
people or animals. gas
chromatography chromatography employing gas as
the eluent. gas-cooled (of a
nuclear reactor etc.) cooled by a
current of gas. gas
fire a domestic fire using gas as its fuel. gas-fired using gas as the fuel. gas
gangrene a rapidly spreading gangrene of
injured tissue infected by a soil
bacterium and accompanied by the
evolution of gas. gas
mask a
respirator used as a
defence against poison gas. gas meter an
apparatus recording the
amount of gas consumed. gas
oil a
type of fuel oil distilled from
petroleum and heavier
than paraffin oil. gas
plant Bot.
fraxinella. gas-proof
impervious to gas. gas ring a
hollow ring perforated with gas jets, used esp.
for cooking. gas
station US a filling-station. gas-tight
proof against the
leakage of gas. gas
turbine a turbine
driven by a
flow of gas or by gas from
combustion. [invented by J. B. van Helmont,
Belgian chemist d. 1644,
after Gk khaos chaos]
