: a colorless odorless flammable gaseous hydrocarbon CH4 that is a product of biological decomposition of organic matter and of the carbonization of coal, is used as a fuel and as a starting material in chemical synthesis, and is the simplest of the alkanes
Examples of methane in a Sentence
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Feeding sainfoin to cattle, or mixing it with alfalfa, can improve health while reducing methane emissions that get part of the blame for the climate warming that is shrinking the snowpack that supplies the river.
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Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 26 Mar. 2026
Hubble captured the planet’s reflected visible light and highlighted Saturn’s iconic yellow hues—which are, in part, a product of the sunlight-reflecting ammonia crystals and hydrocarbons such as methane in its atmosphere.
—Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 25 Mar. 2026
Most of the rockets that currently launch from Cape Canaveral don’t use LNG, but that is changing with Blue Origin’s New Glenn, SpaceX’s Starship and other new rockets switching to propellants that use an LNG and methane mix.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Mar. 2026
It's composed of about 95% nitrogen and 5% methane, whereas ours is 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen.
—Julian Dossett, Space.com, 24 Mar. 2026
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Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 26 Mar. 2026
Hubble captured the planet’s reflected visible light and highlighted Saturn’s iconic yellow hues—which are, in part, a product of the sunlight-reflecting ammonia crystals and hydrocarbons such as methane in its atmosphere.
—Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 25 Mar. 2026
Most of the rockets that currently launch from Cape Canaveral don’t use LNG, but that is changing with Blue Origin’s New Glenn, SpaceX’s Starship and other new rockets switching to propellants that use an LNG and methane mix.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Mar. 2026
It's composed of about 95% nitrogen and 5% methane, whereas ours is 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen.
—Julian Dossett, Space.com, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for methane
Cite this Entry
“Methane.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/methane. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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methane
noun
meth·ane
ˈmeth-ˌān 
: a colorless odorless flammable gas that consists of carbon and hydrogen and is produced by decay of organic matter
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