What is "alkyne"

n. (context organic chemistry English) A hydrocarbon containing at least one carbon–carbon triple bond.

n. a colorless flammable gas used chiefly in welding and in organic synthesis [syn: acetylene, ethyne]

In organic chemistry, an alkyne is an unsaturated hydrocarbon containing at least one carbon—carbon triple bond. The simplest acyclic alkynes with only one triple bond and no other functional groups form a homologous series with the general chemical formula . Alkynes are traditionally known as acetylenes, although the name acetylene also refers specifically to CH, known formally as ethyne using IUPAC nomenclature. Like other hydrocarbons, alkynes are generally hydrophobic but tend to be more reactive.