What does gasses mean?
Gasses is the plural form of gas and refers to substances in the gaseous state, such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, or noxious fumes. It may also be the third-person singular present of the verb gas, meaning to expose something to gas or poison it with gas, although this use is uncommon outside technical or specialized contexts. The plural can be written either gasses or gases, both of which are accepted in standard English; gases is especially familiar in general reference works, while gasses is also widely used and can make the plural easier to distinguish when reading. In environmental and industrial writing, gasses often appears in expressions such as toxic gasses and industrial gasses. Its spelling is worth remembering because gasses and glasses differ in both meaning and pronunciation. The word belongs to a scientific vocabulary that expanded rapidly in the early modern period, when chemists began naming substances that could be collected, measured, and studied independently of their containers.
The plural of gas: substances in a gaseous state, including atmospheric gases and gaseous chemical compounds.
"The new system detects toxic gasses before they reach the workers."
Both gasses and gases are accepted plurals of gas. There is no universally observed semantic distinction between them.
To expose someone or something to gas, especially to poison or fumigate it.
"The laboratory gasses the chamber with nitrogen before the experiment."
This form belongs to the verb gas and is relatively uncommon in ordinary contemporary English.
Gasses is the standard plural form of gas and is especially associated with distinct gaseous substances, but it is interchangeable with gases in most contexts.
"The sensors are designed to identify dangerous gasses in the building."
Gas was coined in the early 17th century by a chemist chasing an elusive “wild spirit,” and the name eventually became everyday English.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does gasses come from?
Gas is an early 17th-century scientific term associated with the Flemish chemist Jan Baptista van Helmont, who used it in describing a supposedly trapped “wild spirit” arising from substances. The term entered English through New Latin and Dutch. From the same root English developed gaseous, gasometer, and gasoline, while the plural gasses and the alternative gases were formed through regular inflection.
Related word forms
How gasses is actually used
As a noun, gasses and gases are both standard plurals; gases may be more common in general technical writing, but gasses is fully accepted and has no strict semantic difference. As a verb, gasses is an inflection of gas and is chiefly used in specialized, historical, or deliberately harmful contexts.
Easily confused with gasses
Both gasses and gases are accepted plural spellings of gas, with no consistent distinction in meaning or usage.
Gasses is the plural of gas, whereas glasses can refer to drinking vessels, lenses, or spectacles.