carbon capture

noun

plural carbon captures

1

: any of various methods of removing carbon dioxide (as from industrial emissions) to reduce its presence in the atmosphere

Carbon capture can be applied to large-scale emissions processes, including coal and gas-fired power generation …

—Global CCS Institute

Direct ocean carbon capture operations look a bit like desalination or wastewater treatment plants, though something quite different is going on inside their systems of filters, tubes, pumps and tanks.

—Brooke Staggs

Aramco has developed an innovative mobile carbon capture system that sharply reduces CO₂ emissions from a heavy-duty truck.

—Oil and Gas Climate Initiative

direct air capture

also : such a method combined with storing the carbon dioxide to keep it from entering the atmosphere : carbon capture and storage

Those bent on bringing down the fossil-fuel industry are also less than thrilled with the … push for technologies such as carbon capture, which removes and stores carbon emissions …

—Valerie Richardson

2

: the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by living vegetation : carbon sequestration

Plants perform carbon capture every day through photosynthesis, and they actually do so quite well.

—Patrick Biller

Trees are nature's best carbon capture technology and have been working to clean the air since the first leafy frond appeared on Earth …

—Georgette Kilgore

Examples of carbon capture in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

An investigation by Drilled and ProPublica found there’s reason to doubt carbon capture and storage will ever succeed at the scale needed to offer a significant climate solution. — Katie Worth, ProPublica, 30 Oct. 2026

Under the new grant, Caravel plans to expand its platform to additional enzyme classes for existing customers and work toward pilot deployments in applications including DNA synthesis, carbon capture and rare earth separations. — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 29 Oct. 2026

Their integration into the plant will help address the technical challenges associated with installing carbon capture infrastructure within an operational industrial site. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 28 Oct. 2026

The company also is exploring other avenues for EBITDA growth, with its carbon capture and solar land lease businesses expected to more than double between 2027 and 2030, along with a growing rural land sales business. — Sebastien Chasse, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1971, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for carbon capture

• rapture
• recapture