propellant

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From propel +‎ -ant.

Noun

propellant (countable and uncountable, plural propellants)

  1. anything that propels
    1. fuel, oxidizer, reaction mass or mixture for one or more engines (especially internal combustion engines or jet engines) that is carried within a vehicle prior to use
    2. the compressed gas in a pressurised container (especially an aerosol can) that is used to expel its content
      • 2016 January 14, Jessica Hall, “Nanoengineers build 'microcannons' that fire light-up bullets filled with drugs”, in ExtremeTech‎[1]:
        Then they backed the membrane with a gel matrix containing a perfluorocarbon (PFC) propellant and fluorescent "nanobullets" about a micron wide, and hit it with ultrasound.
    3. the explosive (cordite, gunpowder, etc) found in ammunition cartridges

Synonyms

  • (fuel, oxidizer): prop (abbreviation)

Derived terms

Translations

compressed gas used to expel the content from a pressurised container
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Adjective

propellant

  1. Alternative spelling of propellent.

Latin

Verb

prōpellant

  1. third-person plural present active subjunctive of prōpellō
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