helium
noun
he·li·um
| \ ˈhē-lē-əm
, ˈhēl-yəm\
, ˈhēl-yəm\
Definition of helium
: a light colorless inert gaseous element found especially in natural gases and used chiefly for inflating airships and balloons, in lamps, in cryogenic research, and as a component of inert atmospheres (as in welding) — see Chemical Elements Table
Examples of helium in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Some of the soil and bits of rock were vacuum-packed on the moon — and never exposed to Earth’s atmosphere — or frozen or stored in gaseous helium following splashdown and then left untouched. — Marcia Dunn, The Denver Post, "NASA to open moon rock samples sealed since Apollo missions," 26 June 2019 In 2009, the Heene family reported to media outlets — not to authorities — that their six-year-old son Falcon had accidentally been launched in a helium weather balloon tethered in the family’s back yard. — Tom Noel, The Know, "16 strange, spooky and (mostly) true Colorado stories to tell around a campfire," 24 Aug. 2019 During those collisions, the carbon nuclei overtake the helium nuclei, and in that process radiate energy in the form of a photon. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Where Does the Oxygen in the Universe Come From, Exactly?," 21 Aug. 2019 Reuters/Gareth Bumstead Extracting enough helium fuel will be energy-intensive and there’s a looming global shortage. — Keith Baker, Quartz, "Four bold visions for the future of flying," 20 Aug. 2019 The gist of it is that hydrogen atoms deep in the core of stars fuse together to make heavier helium atoms, but in the process, a tiny amount of the hydrogen is converted to a tremendous amount of light and other radiation. — Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, "Sky Watch: Lyra the Lyre may be a small constellation, but it has a big story," 18 Aug. 2019 But don’t be alarmed: This plasma consisted of less than a milligram of helium ions. — Sophia Chen, WIRED, "Physicists Made a Blazing Hot Plasma Doughnut to Study Solar Wind," 29 July 2019 Noseda has a particular way with Beethoven: fresh and helium-light and so fleet that the strings almost floated offstage in the headlong blink-and-you’ll-miss-it passagework of the trio section of the third-movement scherzo. — Anne Midgette, Washington Post, "How the NSO and Noseda brought fresh air to the summer heat at Wolf Trap," 28 July 2019 The system used helium as a pressurizing gas, inhibited nitrogen tetroxide for an oxidizer, and a blended hydrazine fuel made up of a mixture of around 50 percent unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine and 50 percent anhydrous hydrazine. — Alex Hollings, Popular Mechanics, "The Art of the Return Trip: How NASA Got Apollo 11 Home," 24 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'helium.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for helium
helium
noun
English Language Learners Definition of helium
: a chemical element that is a colorless gas, that is lighter than air, and that is often used to fill balloons
See the full definition for helium in the English Language Learners Dictionary
helium
noun
he·li·um
| \ ˈhē-lē-əm
\
\
Kids Definition of helium
: a very light gaseous chemical element that is found in various natural gases, will not burn, and is used in balloons
helium
noun
he·li·um
| \ ˈhē-lē-əm
\
\
Medical Definition of helium
: a light colorless nonflammable gaseous element found especially in natural gases and used chiefly for inflating airships and balloons, for filling incandescent lamps, and for cryogenic research
—symbol He
— see Chemical Elements Table
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