ura·ni·um
| \ yu̇-ˈrā-nē-əm
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Definition of uranium
: a silvery heavy radioactive polyvalent metallic element that is found especially in uraninite and exists naturally as a mixture of mostly nonfissionable isotopes — see Chemical Elements Table
Examples of uranium in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
On Sunday, Trump said the idea of buying Greenland has been discussed in his administration because of the strategic benefits and in part because of its natural resources, including coal and uranium. — Martin Selsoe Sorensen, BostonGlobe.com, "In Denmark, bewilderment and anger over Trump’s canceled visit," 21 Aug. 2019 Investors in Greenland have requested permits to open rare-earth and uranium mines that would be among the largest in the world. — The Economist, "A polarising president: Donald Trump wants to buy Greenland," 16 Aug. 2019 Einstein urged the United States to stockpile uranium ore and begin work on its own atomic weapons. — Trevor Lipscombe, Time, "Einstein Feared a Nazi Atom Bomb—But Immigrants Made Sure the U.S. Got There First," 2 Aug. 2019 Comedically, the way Plankton just hijacks this positive song and turns it into a Sturm und Drang with all the nuclear fire and uranium bomb references. — Bianca Gracie, Billboard, "'SpongeBob SquarePants' Voice Actor Tom Kenny, Songwriter Andy Paley & More Reflect on 20 Years of Laughter & Music," 23 July 2019 The payments channel, called Instex, was designed by Brussels to keep up trade with Iran and walk the country back from breaking limits on its uranium enrichment process. — Alan Murray, Fortune, "Qualcomm’s Mollenkopf on Its Anti-Trust Battle and the Rise of 5G: CEO Daily," 18 July 2019 In recent weeks Iran has exceeded the amount and purity of the uranium it is permitted under the accord, transgressions confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency. — New York Times, "E.U. Ministers, Scrambling to Save Iran Nuclear Deal, Play Down Breaches," 15 July 2019 Most of the uranium atoms found in nature are U-238, an isotope with 92 protons and 146 neutrons. — Stephanie Demarco, latimes.com, "210,000-year-old skull in Greece is earliest sign of modern humans in Europe or Asia," 10 July 2019 And according to uranium-series dating, the skull could be as much as 210,000 years old. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "Humans may have reached Europe by 210,000 years ago," 10 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'uranium.' 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 uranium
uranium
noun
English Language Learners Definition of uranium
: a radioactive element that is used to make nuclear energy and nuclear weapons
See the full definition for uranium in the English Language Learners Dictionary
uranium
noun
ura·ni·um
| \ yu̇-ˈrā-nē-əm
\
\
Kids Definition of uranium
: a radioactive metallic chemical element used as a source of atomic energy
uranium
noun
ura·ni·um
| \ yu̇-ˈrā-nē-əm
\
\
Medical Definition of uranium
: a silvery heavy radioactive polyvalent metallic element that is found especially in pitchblende and uraninite and exists naturally as a mixture of three isotopes of mass number 234, 235, and 238 in the proportions of 0.006 percent, 0.71 percent, and 99.28 percent respectively
—symbol U
— see Chemical Elements Table
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