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propellant

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Definition of propellant

a substance that propels something, in particular:
an inert fluid, liquefied under pressure, in which the active contents of an aerosol are dispersed: the main uses of CFCs are in aerosols as propellants [mass noun]:aerosols are wastefully packaged, because they contain a lot of propellant as well as the product
an explosive that fires bullets from a firearm: the common gun propellants are either nitrocellulose or a mixture of nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine [mass noun]:the company produced all sizes of propellant for weapons
a substance used as a reagent in a rocket engine to provide thrust: rocket propellants

Origin:

mid 17th century: originally from Latin propellent- 'driving ahead (of oneself)', from the verb propellere, later from propel

As a noun, propellant is always spelled with the ending -ant.

Definition of propellant in the US English dictionary

Nearby words