natural gas

noun

1
: gas issuing from the earth's crust through natural openings or bored wells
especially : a combustible mixture of methane and other hydrocarbons used chiefly as a fuel and raw material
2
: gas manufactured from organic matter (such as coal)

Examples of natural gas in a Sentence

a house heated by natural gas
Recent Examples on the Web Venezuela is nearing approval of a license for Shell and the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago to build an offshore natural gas field and export its production to the Caribbean country, sources tell Reuters. Breanne Deppisch, Washington Examiner, 20 Nov. 2023 The optional notification system will send customers a text message when there is a 20% or more increase in the monthly natural gas commodity cost, which affects a portion of the bill. Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 16 Nov. 2023 So far, the cuts have been driven largely by replacing coal power generation with electricity made using natural gas, wind and solar energy. Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 14 Nov. 2023 But the industry has grown rapidly, and the U.S. is now the largest exporter of natural gas in the world. Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 31 Oct. 2023 But natural gas heat users will finally get a break. Mary Gilbert, CNN, 19 Oct. 2023 Outages from both storms were largely due to the failure of natural gas generators to come online. Breanne Deppisch, Washington Examiner, 8 Nov. 2023 The group has its liquified natural gas arm to thank for its rousing 2022 performance. Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 8 Nov. 2023 Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal estimate that US natural gas stockpiles decreased by 6.5 billion cubic feet last week, when cold weather likely boosted demand for heating. WSJ, 8 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'natural gas.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1825, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of natural gas was in 1825

Dictionary Entries Near natural gas

Cite this Entry

“Natural gas.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/natural%20gas. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

natural gas

noun
: gas that comes from the earth's crust through natural openings or bored wells
especially : a flammable mixture of hydrocarbons and especially methane used chiefly as a fuel and raw material

More from Merriam-Webster on natural gas

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