meth·ane
n : a colorless odorless flammable gaseous saturated hydrocarbon CH4 that is lighter than air and forms explosive mixtures with air or oxygen, that is a product of decomposition of organic matter in marshes and mines or of the carbonization of coal, and that is used as a fuel and raw material in chemical synthesis - called also marsh gas .
          Brit usu 
Similar sounding terms: meth·ene
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