ethane

noun

eth·​ane ˈe-ˌthān 

British usually

ˈē- 

: a colorless odorless gaseous alkane C₂H₆ found in natural gas and used as a fuel

Examples of ethane in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Trump administration has lifted recent export license requirements for chip design software sales in China, and approved US ethane exports to China without additional approvals. —Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 3 July 2025

China will resume approving the necessary rare-earth export licenses to U.S. manufacturers (but only for six months), and the U.S. will reverse recent export restrictions of ethane (needed by China’s plastics sector), jet engines, and some other machinery. —The Editors, National Review, 12 June 2025

Instead, Luque and Zhang’s team spotted other molecules, like ethane, that could fit the same profile. —Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 6 June 2025

There were already exemptions for some pharmaceuticals, microchips and aircraft engines, but China added an exemption for ethane imports, according to Reuters. —Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 2 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary, from ethyl

First Known Use

1866, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ethane

• abstain
• airplane
• alkane
• arcane
• arraign
• attain
• backplane
• betaine
• biplane
• blockchain
• butane
• campaign

Kids Definition

ethane

noun

eth·​ane ˈeth-ˌān 

: a colorless odorless gas that consists of carbon and hydrogen, is found in natural gas, and is used especially as a fuel

Medical Definition

ethane

noun

eth·​ane

ˈeth-ˌān, British ˈē-ˌthān

: a colorless odorless gaseous alkane C₂H₆ found in natural gas and used especially as a fuel