alkaline earth
Americannoun
noun
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Also called: alkaline earth metal. alkaline earth element. any of the divalent electropositive metals beryllium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, barium, and radium, belonging to group 2A of the periodic table
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an oxide of one of the alkaline earth metals
Etymology
Origin of alkaline earth
First recorded in 1810–20
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The only result that popped up pertained to chemistry: specifically, to the periodic table and the atomic numbers of the alkaline earth metals.
From New York Times ● May 21, 2023
Hydrogen carbonates of the alkaline earth metals remain stable only in solution; evaporation of the solution produces the carbonate.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
The group 12 elements behave more like the alkaline earth metals than transition metals.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
An atom of the alkaline earth metal beryllium, with an atomic number of 4, contains four protons in the nucleus and four electrons surrounding the nucleus.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
Sulphuret: A combination of an alkaline earth or metal with sulphur, as Sulphuret of iron, a combination of iron and sulphur.
From American Woman's Home by Beecher, Catharine Esther
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.