plural gases also gasses
1
: a fluid (such as air) that has neither independent shape nor volume but tends to expand indefinitely
2
a
: a combustible gas or gaseous mixture for fuel or lighting
especially
: natural gas
b
: a gaseous product of digestion
also
: discomfort from this
c
: a gas or gaseous mixture used to produce anesthesia
d
: a substance that can be used to produce a poisonous, suffocating, or physically irritating atmosphere
3
: empty talk : bombast
His talk about quitting his job was all gas.
4
: gasoline
also
: the accelerator pedal of an automotive vehicle
5
: driving force : energy
I was young, and full of gas—
H. L. Mencken
H. L. Menckenran out of gas in the seventh inning
6
slang
: something that gives pleasure : delight
the party was a gas
7
baseball, informal
: fast and powerfully thrown pitches : smoke sense 8
That's Nate on the mound in the glossy photo in his dad's office, throwing gas in some Little League game.—Austin Murphy
Austin Murphy
gassed; gassing
1
: to talk idly or garrulously
2
: to give off gas (see gas entry 1 sense 1)
3
: to fill the tank (as of an automobile) with gasoline
—usually used with up
1
: to supply with gas or especially gasoline
gas up the car
2
a
: to treat chemically with gas
b
: to poison or otherwise affect adversely with gas
3
slang
: to please greatly
gender-affirming surgery; gender affirmation surgery
Gender-affirming surgery (GAS), which refers to any surgical procedure that modifies an individual's body in accordance with their gender identity and expression, is sought after by some transgender and gender nonbinary individuals.—Alexandra Terris-Feldman et al.
Alexandra Terris-Feldman et al.Currently, there are many treatment options for gender dysphoria, including hormone treatment, … psychotherapy, and GAS.—Hadal El-Hadi et al.
Hadal El-Hadi et al.Examples of gas in a Sentence
Noun
Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas.
We heat our house with gas.
Do you have a gas stove or an electric one?
The car gets good gas mileage.
The car almost ran out of gas.
He was driving with one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake.
Verb
soldiers gassed on the battlefield
We stopped to gas the car.
Recent Examples on the Web
Anthony Wood, Space.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Her hunch was that the cause of the deaths was a gas leak.
—Joy Williams, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025
Most recently, lawyers for the journalists, clergy and protesters filed notice that Bovino violated her orders in tear-gassing protesters in a raid on a Chicago Mexican neighborhood.
—Michael Loria, USA Today, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gas
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
The nebula has been observed shining in radio, X-ray and visible light, as the cloud of stellar material pushed outward by a supernova explosion 10,000 years ago comes into contact with the mass of interstellar gas beyond.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Her hunch was that the cause of the deaths was a gas leak.
—Joy Williams, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
Harley was wounded twice but survived the war dying in Adelaide in 1934 of a cancer his family say was caused by him being gassed by the Germans in the trenches.
—CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025
Most recently, lawyers for the journalists, clergy and protesters filed notice that Bovino violated her orders in tear-gassing protesters in a raid on a Chicago Mexican neighborhood.
—Michael Loria, USA Today, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gas
Cite this Entry
“Gas.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gas. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
gas
1 of 2 noun
plural gases also gasses
1
: a fluid (as hydrogen or air) that has no fixed shape and tends to expand without limit
2
a
: a gas or mixture of gases used as a fuel or as an anesthetic
b
: a gaseous product of digestion
c
: a fluid substance (as tear gas) that can be used to produce a poisonous or suffocating atmosphere
3
: unimportant talk : bombast
4
: gasoline
5
slang
: something appealing or enjoyable
the party was a gas
gas
2 of 2 verb
gassed; gassing
1
: to supply with gas
gas up the car
2
a
: to treat with gas
b
: to poison with gas
3
: to talk idly
Medical Definition
gas
1 of 3 noun
plural gases also gasses
1
: a fluid (as air) that has neither independent shape nor volume but tends to expand indefinitely
2
: a gaseous product of digestion
also
: discomfort from this
3
: a gas or gaseous mixture used to produce anesthesia
4
: a substance that can be used to produce a poisonous, asphyxiating, or irritant atmosphere
gas
2 of 3 transitive verb
gassed; gassing
1
: to treat chemically with gas
2
: to poison or otherwise affect adversely with gas
GAS
3 of 3 abbreviation2
gender-affirming surgery; gender affirmation surgery
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