uranium

IPA/juˈreɪniəm/
KK[jɚˈeniəm]IPA/juˈreɪniəm/

uranium — noun

1. a naturally occurring heavy metallic substance that is silver-white in colour an

1.nounB2
Definition

a naturally occurring heavy metallic substance that is silver-white in colour and gives off radiation, whose atoms can be split to release a very large amount of energy, used mainly as a fuel in nuclear reactors and in nuclear weapons

Example

Folake's research team studies how uranium behaves under extreme heat and pressure.

uranium + behaves under [conditions]

The uranium mine in northern Namibia produces ore for several international power companies.

uranium mine — location where uranium ore is extracted

Common collocations
  • enriched uranium
  • depleted uranium
  • uranium mine
  • uranium ore
  • uranium fuel
  • uranium enrichment
  • uranium isotope

Grammar Patterns

uranium + verb (is found / occurs)

enriched / depleted + uranium

Usage Note

Frequently appears as a modifier in compound nouns — for example, 'uranium mine', 'uranium fuel', and 'uranium enrichment'. The adjective forms 'enriched uranium' (processed to increase the proportion of fissionable isotope U-235) and 'depleted uranium' (with a reduced proportion of U-235) are common in technical and news contexts.

Common Mistakes

The power plant runs on uranium plutonium.
The power plant runs on uranium.
Uranium and plutonium are different chemical elements; plutonium is produced from uranium inside a nuclear reactor.
We need three uraniums for the experiment.
We need three samples of uranium for the experiment.
Uranium is an uncountable noun in general use.

Word family

  • uranic
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three are radioactive elements, but they differ in use and availability. Uranium is the primary fuel for nuclear power plants; it occurs naturally and can be enriched for reactors. Plutonium is mostly man-made, created when uranium atoms are split inside a reactor, and is used in both nuclear fuel and weapons — it is more dangerous and tightly controlled than uranium. Thorium is another naturally occurring radioactive element that can be used as an alternative nuclear fuel, but it is not yet widely adopted in commercial reactors. Radium is highly radioactive but not used for power generation; it was historically used in luminous paints and medical treatments. For example, a nuclear reactor typically runs on enriched uranium, not thorium or radium, while plutonium is a by-product of that same process.

plutoniumthorium ↗radium

Common collocations

Nouns

  • uranium deposits
  • uranium production
  • uranium mining

Adverbs

  • naturally occurring uranium

Phrases

  • nuclear fuel from uranium
  • uranium enrichment process
  • weapons-grade uranium

Prepositions

  • uranium in (reactors)
  • uranium from (mines)

Etymology

GreekLatinEnglish

The element was discovered in 1789 by the German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth, who named it after the planet Uranus. The planet Uranus had been discovered eight years earlier, in 1781, and its name comes from the ancient Greek sky god Ouranos, through Latin. Klaproth followed the custom of his time, which was to name new elements after recently discovered celestial bodies.