lithium
noun
lith·i·um
| \ ˈli-thē-əm
\
\
Definition of lithium
1
: a soft silver-white element of the alkali metal group that is the lightest metal known and that is used especially in alloys and glass, in chemical synthesis, and in storage batteries — see Chemical Elements Table
2
: a salt of lithium (such as lithium carbonate) used in psychiatric medicine
Examples of lithium in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Deuterium is abundant in sea water and tritium can be produced from lithium, thus a fusion plant would have no shortage of fuel. — Giulia Pacchioni, Scientific American, "The Road to Fusion," 26 Aug. 2019 In the past, neurological medications like lithium, used to treat ailments such as bipolar disorder, were discovered mostly by trial and error, with researchers or physicians prescribing different substances and observing the effects. — Emily Toomey, Smithsonian, "Inside a Brain Bank, Where Humans’ Most Precious Organ Is Dissected and Studied," 21 Aug. 2019 Another is lithium, found in rechargeable batteries, the mining of which takes a heavy toll on the environment. — Fortune, "Someday, Apple May Make Your New iPhone Out of Pieces of Your Old iPhone," 19 Aug. 2019 Those impacts were significant, the researchers found, especially for the scooter’s 13-pound aluminum frame and its 2-pound lithium ion battery. — Los Angeles Times, "Electric scooters are good for the environment, right? Here’s why it’s not so simple," 2 Aug. 2019 Likewise, medications like lithium (for mood disorders) and beta blockers (for high blood pressure) can set off or worsen psoriasis flares. — Lambeth Hochwald, Health.com, "Is Psoriasis Contagious? What Dermatologists Have to Say," 19 July 2019 One is a small lithium polymer battery, which means all the power for its motions and circuits are carried on board. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Tiny robot leaps around carrying its own battery, electronics," 10 July 2019 In recent years, the mining has intensified, thanks to booming demand for lithium, which is needed to produce rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles. — Washington Post, "The element is needed for rechargeable batteries, but there’s a cost for extracting it.," 12 June 2019 The hazmat team called APS and learned the site contained lithium ion batteries that stored energy from the electrical grid. — Perry Vandell, azcentral, "First report on Surprise APS battery explosion that hospitalized firefighters offers few answers," 9 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lithium.' 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 lithium
lithium
noun
English Language Learners Definition of lithium
: a soft silver-white element that is the lightest metal known
See the full definition for lithium in the English Language Learners Dictionary
lithium
noun
lith·i·um
| \ ˈlith-ē-əm
\
\
Medical Definition of lithium
1
: a soft silver-white element of the alkali metal group that is the lightest metal known and that is used in chemical synthesis and in storage batteries
—symbol Li
— see Chemical Elements Table
2
: a lithium salt and especially lithium carbonate used in psychiatric medicine
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