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aluminum

American  
[uh-loo-muh-nuhm] / əˈlu mə nəm /
British, aluminium

noun

  1. Chemistry. a silver-white metallic element, light in weight, ductile, malleable, and not readily corroded or tarnished, occurring combined in nature in igneous rock, shale, clay, and most soil: used in alloys and for lightweight utensils, castings, airplane parts, etc. alum.; Al; 26.98; 13; 2.70 at 20°C.

adjective

  1. of, relating to, or containing aluminum.

    an aluminum frying pan.
aluminum Scientific  
/ ə-lo̅o̅′mə-nəm /

  1. Symbol Al A lightweight, silvery-white metallic element that is ductile, is found chiefly in bauxite, and is a good conductor of electricity. It is the most abundant metal in the Earth's crust and is used to make a wide variety of products from soda cans to airplane components. Atomic number 13; atomic weight 26.9815; melting point 660.3°C (1,220.5°F); boiling point 2,519°C; specific gravity 2.70; valence 3.

  2. See Periodic Table

Other Word Forms

  • aluminic adjective

Etymology

Origin of aluminum

1812; from New Latin; aluminum was an alteration, by Humphry Davy, of alumium, which was first proposed; the chiefly British variant aluminium was formed after other metals in -ium. See alumina, -ium

Compare meaning

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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.

Over the weekend, Iranian drones damaged major aluminum smelting operations in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, while hitting port cranes in Oman.

From The Wall Street Journal

The war has jacked up the price of oil and snarled supply chains for a variety of other important commodities, from aluminum to urea.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Iran War has rocked the aluminum market, sending prices up about 10% even as other metals like copper have fallen.

From Barron's

Those strikes sent aluminum futures surging 4.2% in recent trading Monday.

From MarketWatch

Alcoa’s stock rallied Monday after Iranian missile strikes on two large Middle East aluminum sites sent prices of the industrial metal higher.

From The Wall Street Journal

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.