What does degassed mean?
Degassed is the past tense and past participle of the verb degas, meaning to remove dissolved, absorbed, or trapped gas from a substance or enclosed space. The word lives firmly in technical territory: chemists degass solvents before reactions so that bubbles do not interfere with results, metallurgists vacuum-degass molten steel to improve its purity and mechanical properties, and engineers degass liquids destined for high-vacuum instruments such as mass spectrometers. Common methods include applying a vacuum, gentle heating, ultrasonication, or sparging with an inert gas that sweeps out unwanted molecules. In everyday life the idea surfaces whenever someone lets a fizzy drink go flat — the drink has, in effect, been partially degassed by exposure to air. Though rarely heard in casual conversation, degassed is precise, well-established vocabulary wherever gas-free materials matter, and its compounds like degassed water are standard terms of art in laboratory practice.
verb (past tense and past participle of degas)Past tense and past participle of degas: to remove dissolved, absorbed, or trapped gas from a liquid, solid, or sealed environment, typically by heating, vacuum treatment, or agitation.
- (of a liquid or material) Having had dissolved or entrapped gas removed, as by vacuum, heat, or ultrasonication.
- (of a sealed system or container) Having been evacuated of unwanted gas before use or sealing.
"The molten aluminum was degassed under vacuum to eliminate porosity in the final casting."
"The lab technician degassed the epoxy resin to prevent bubbles forming during curing."
"Once the sample had been thoroughly degassed, it was transferred to the vacuum chamber for analysis."
"Vacuum-degassed steel is prized for its exceptional purity and strength."
That bottle of wine you let 'breathe' before dinner? A chemist would say you simply wanted it less degassed.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of degassed
The verb degas was formed in English by adding the prefix de- (from Latin, indicating removal) to the noun gas. Gas itself entered European languages in the early seventeenth century, coined or popularized by the Flemish chemist Jan Baptista van Helmont, who apparently adapted it from Greek chaos. Degassed thus carries a hybrid pedigree: a Latinate prefix attached to a modern scientific coinage. Its cognates are essentially all the other derivatives of gas, such as gaseous and gassy, rather than ancient relatives.
Related word forms
How degassed is actually used
Strictly technical register: found almost exclusively in chemistry, physics, metallurgy, food science, and engineering contexts. Rarely used outside professional or academic writing. Often appears attributively in compounds such as "degassed water" or "degassed solvent."
Easily confused with degassed
"Decreased" means to become smaller in amount, while degassed means having gas removed — the two share no meaning despite a superficial sound resemblance.