alkali metal

nounChemistry.

any of the group of univalent metals including potassium, sodium, lithium, rubidium, cesium, and francium, whose hydroxides are alkalis.

Origin of alkali metal

First recorded in 1880–85

Words Nearby alkali metal

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use alkali metal in a sentence

Barium nitrate, used with a neutral solution, is the group reagent in the absence of metal ions other than the alkali metal ions.
The Elements of Qualitative Chemical Analysis, vol. 1, parts 1 and 2. | Julius Stieglitz
Write the general formula of an alum, representing an atom of an alkali metal by X and an atom of a trivalent metal by Y.
An Elementary Study of Chemistry | William McPherson

British Dictionary definitions for alkali metal

alkali metal

noun

any of the monovalent metals lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, caesium, and francium, belonging to group 1A of the periodic table. They are all very reactive and electropositive

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for alkali metal

alkali metal

Any of a group of soft metallic elements that form alkali solutions when they combine with water. They include lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, and francium. Except for cesium, which has a gold sheen, alkali metals are white. The alkali metals have one electron in their outer shell, and therefore react easily with other elements and are found in nature only in compounds. See Periodic Table.

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