molybdenum
noun
mo·lyb·de·num
| \ mə-ˈlib-də-nəm
\
\
Definition of molybdenum
: a metallic element that resembles chromium and tungsten in many properties, is used especially in strengthening and hardening steel, and is a trace element in plant and animal metabolism — see Chemical Elements Table
Examples of molybdenum in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Hudbay has projected the mine would yield about 10% of the country’s total copper production, while also extracting molybdenum, silver and gold. — Ian James, azcentral, "Giant Arizona copper mine on hold after judge blocks construction," 28 Apr. 2019 After excavation, the ore would be crushed and washed with water and reagents to concentrate the copper and molybdenum. — Douglas Main, National Geographic, "In a land of wild cats and scarce water, a battle over mining heats up," 25 Apr. 2019 The modelers extrapolated from the then-current use of 19 commodities and projected the exhaustion, before 2012, of the supply of 12 — aluminum, copper, gold, lead, mercury, molybdenum, natural gas, oil, silver, tin, tungsten and zinc. — George Will, Twin Cities, "George Will: Scarcities are recyclable excuses for expanding government," 13 June 2019 The modelers extrapolated from the then-current use of 19 commodities and projected the exhaustion, before 2012, of the supply of twelve — aluminum, copper, gold, lead, mercury, molybdenum, natural gas, oil, silver, tin, tungsten, and zinc. — George Will, National Review, "The Scarcity Scam," 13 June 2019 The plan entails blasting out and excavating 660 million tons of ore containing copper, and molybdenum, and dumping 1.2 billion tons of waste rock over more than 1,460 acres—nearly twice the size of Central Park—in a heap several hundred feet tall. — Douglas Main, National Geographic, "In a land of wild cats and scarce water, a battle over mining heats up," 25 Apr. 2019 The company's surface samples have shown cobalt, zinc, nickel and molybdenum. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Mining Company Buys Rights to Former National Monument Land," 21 June 2018 In 2004, Weimin took half of a venture in North Korea’s South Hamgyong Province to mine a metal called molybdenum, according to several reports including the CIA compendium. — James T. Areddy, WSJ, "Comrades in Commerce: A Chinese Hero’s Family Nurtures an Alliance With North Korea," 2 Sep. 2018 Sufficiently high levels of lithium result in the transfer of an electron to molybdenum (which in turn alters the structure of the material) and a boost of its conductance. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Researchers make RAM from a phase change we don’t entirely understand," 18 Dec. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'molybdenum.' 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 molybdenum
molybdenum
noun
mo·lyb·de·num
| \ mə-ˈlib-də-nəm
\
\
Kids Definition of molybdenum
: a white metallic chemical element used in some steel to give greater strength and hardness
molybdenum
noun
mo·lyb·de·num
| \ -də-nəm
\
\
Medical Definition of molybdenum
: a metallic element that resembles chromium and tungsten in many properties, is used especially in strengthening and hardening steel, and is a trace element in plant and animal metabolism
—symbol Mo
— see Chemical Elements Table