acetylene

UK: /əˈsɛtɪliːn/ US: /əˈsɛtəˌlin, -lɪn/ ,(ə set′l ēn′, -in)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

a•cet•y•lene /əˈsɛtəˌlin, -lɪn/   n. [uncountable]

1. Chemistry a colorless gas, used esp. in metal cutting and welding.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

a•cet•y•lene  (ə set′l ēn′, -in), n. [Chem.]

1. Chemistry a colorless gas, C₂H₂, having an etherlike odor, produced usually by the action of water on calcium carbide or by pyrolysis of natural gas: used esp. in metal cutting and welding, as an illuminant, and in organic synthesis. Also called ethine, ethyne. 

• 1860–65; acetyl + -ene

a•cet•y•len•ic  (ə set′l en′ik), adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

acetylene / əˈsɛtɪˌliːn/ noun

1. a colourless flammable gas used in the manufacture of organic chemicals and in cutting and welding metals. Formula: C₂H₂
   Systematic name: ethyne
2. another name for alkyne