a colorless odorless gas used as a fuel
"After upgrading their heating system, the family switched from oil to methane because it burns cleaner and costs less per unit of energy."
The simplest aliphatic hydrocarbon, CH₄, being a constituent of natural gas, and one of the most abundant greenhouse gases.
"Scientists warned that rising methane levels from thawing permafrost could accelerate global warming far more quickly than previously predicted."
The word methane comes from combining the prefix methyl with the suffix -ane. It was formed to name a specific type of hydrocarbon compound.