Skip to main content
avgas

avgas

8.3
A type of gasoline made for small propeller planes with piston engines
  • noun
  • /ˈævɡæs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : gasolina de aviación
  • Pilots must ensure they use the correct type of avgas for their aircraft's engine.

Examples

  • The mechanic checked the quality of the avgas before filling the plane's tank.

  • Due to a shortage of avgas, several flights were delayed at the small airport.

  • The plane uses high-quality avgas for optimal performance.

  • Do you have any avgas left in the hangar?

  • Pilots use avgas to fuel their small aircraft before takeoff.

  • The airport sells avgas at the fuel station for general aviation planes.

  • Before his flight, he checked that the avgas was at the correct octane level.

Synonyms

high-test fuel
vsavgas
  • Specialized
6.2

Fuel with a high octane rating for powerful car or plane engines

is made specifically for aircraft piston engines
gasolene
vsavgas
  • Archaic
3.8

A liquid that can burn and is used as fuel for cars and machines

is formulated specifically for use in aircraft piston engines

How High-Octane

high-test fuel
  • Specialized
6.2
avgas
  • Specialized
8.3

Surface Forms

avgas singular
avgas plural

Morphology

avgas = aviation + gas (semi-transparent) = av + gas

Formed by clipping/blending of 'aviation' (av) + 'gas'; the technical abbreviation 'av' is not fully obvious to average learners.

Etymology

The word avgas is a short form of aviation and gasoline, so you can think of 'av' + 'gas' as 'plane fuel'. So avgas means the special gasoline used in aircraft with piston engines.