propellant
Other forms: propellants
A propellant is a force or substance that drives something else forward. Your model rocket needs a propellant, or a fuel to push it into the air. You might use something as simple as vinegar and baking soda. Space rockets use solid or liquid propellants, or fuel.
Propellant derives from the word propel, which means to drive something forward with force. A propellant can be fuel, or the explosive charge that pushes a bullet out of a gun. Gases used to propel can be called "propellant gases" and might be stored in a "propellant tank." Note that some dictionaries accept the variant spelling propellent.
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any substance that propels
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synonyms:
propellent
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types:
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rocket fuel, rocket propellant, rocket propellent
an explosive charge that propels a rocket
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compressed gas
gas at a high pressure that can be used as a propellant
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compressed air
air at a pressure greater than that of the atmosphere
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type of:
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substance
a particular kind or species of matter with uniform properties
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rocket fuel, rocket propellant, rocket propellent
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tending to or capable of propelling“propellant fuel for submarines”
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synonyms:
propellent, propelling, propulsive
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Vocabulary lists containing propellant
Stories about an enormous pumpkin, a valuable baseball card, and a delayed rocket launch all contributed words to this list of vocabulary from the week's news.
This list covers The War of the Worlds and "Everybody Out."
Originally published under the title Rocket Boys, this memoir recounts the story of six rocket-obsessed friends growing up in a small West Virginia mining town in the 1950s.
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