thallium
noun
thal·li·um
| \ ˈtha-lē-əm
\
\
Definition of thallium
: a soft poisonous metallic element that resembles lead in physical properties, occurs sparsely in a number of common ores, and is used chiefly in the form of compounds especially in photosensitive devices and formerly as a pesticide — see Chemical Elements Table
Examples of thallium in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That volcano emits fumes with a thallium concentration at least ten times higher than any other volcanic vapors ever studied. — Sophia Chen, WIRED, "New Analysis Techniques Unearth a Trove of Unusual Minerals," 1 July 2019 The substance that condensed inside the tube, upon analysis, contained an abnormally large amount of thallium. — Sophia Chen, WIRED, "New Analysis Techniques Unearth a Trove of Unusual Minerals," 1 July 2019 But a second hair from March 1995 showed Zhu Ling had ingested large doses of thallium constantly for about two weeks. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Study brings us one step closer to solving 1994 thallium poisoning case," 25 Dec. 2018 Ash found that Zhu Ling had received many doses of toxic thallium, increasing in frequency and concentration over time. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Study brings us one step closer to solving 1994 thallium poisoning case," 25 Dec. 2018 Lead, arsenic, boron, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, mercury, molybdenum, selenium, thallium, and uranium are among the chemicals and heavy metals listed with coal ash deposits. — Grace Schneider, The Courier-Journal, "An Indiana county is paying a steep price for burying toxic coal ash," 18 May 2018 Ash storage sites at the plant are leaking into surface water and groundwater upstream of drinking water intakes for more than 1 million people in the Charlotte region, the report says, calling the thallium and radium results alarming. — Deon Roberts, charlotteobserver, "Groundwater at Duke Energy coal ash sites faulted for high radioactivity levels | Charlotte Observer," 20 Mar. 2018 There, in Islamabad, Naeem had a thallium stress test to assess the damage. — Sorayya Khan, Longreads, "The Cities in Me," 8 Feb. 2018 One of Koremlu’s active ingredients was thallium acetate. — Kat Eschner, Smithsonian, "Three Horrifying Pre-FDA Cosmetics," 26 June 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'thallium.' 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 thallium
thallium
noun
thal·li·um
| \ ˈthal-ē-əm
\
\
Medical Definition of thallium
: a sparsely but widely distributed poisonous metallic element that resembles lead in physical properties and is used chiefly in the form of compounds in photoelectric cells or as a pesticide
—symbol Tl
— see Chemical Elements Table