hydrocarbon

noun

hy·​dro·​car·​bon ˈhī-drō-ˌkär-bən 

: an organic compound (such as acetylene or butane) containing only carbon and hydrogen and often occurring in petroleum, natural gas, coal, and bitumens

Examples of hydrocarbon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Today, there are a number of companies that specialize in thermal degradation depolymerization methods to convert plastic into liquid hydrocarbons – gasoline, synthetic diesel, kerosene, and oil. —New Atlas, 23 June 2025

These use cases are enabled by oil and gas fields’ digital twins, which use AI/ML/hybrid intelligence models and real-time Internet of Things data streams from the field, coupled with petro-technical models for hydrocarbon production and petro-technical workflow automation. —Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 11 June 2025

The blowout, which lasted five days, sent about 20,000 barrels of water and 5,000 barrels of hydrocarbons into the air, according to data about the incident. —Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 12 June 2025

The new brown dwarfs also exhibit signals from an unidentified hydrocarbon, a chemical compound composed solely of hydrogen and carbon atoms. —Robert Lea, Space.com, 12 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1826, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing hydrocarbon

• polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
• polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon

Rhymes for hydrocarbon

• fluorocarbon
• carbon

Kids Definition

hydrocarbon

noun

hy·​dro·​car·​bon ˌhī-drə-ˈkär-bən 

: a compound containing only carbon and hydrogen

Medical Definition

hydrocarbon

noun

hy·​dro·​car·​bon -ˈkär-bən 

: an organic compound (as acetylene, benzene, or butane) containing only carbon and hydrogen and often occurring in petroleum, natural gas, coal, and bitumens