bismuth

[ biz-muhth ]

/ ˈbɪz məθ /

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noun Chemistry.

a brittle, grayish-white, red-tinged, metallic element used in the manufacture of fusible alloys and in medicine. Symbol: Bi; atomic weight: 208.980; atomic number: 83.

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Origin of bismuth

1660–70; earlier bismutum<New Latin bisemūtum, Latinized form of German Wissmuth (now Wismut) < ?

OTHER WORDS FROM bismuth

bis·muth·al, adjective

Words nearby bismuth

Bismarck Archipelago, Bismarck herring, Bismarckian, Bismarck, Otto von, bismillah, bismuth, bismuth chromate, bismuthic, bismuthine, bismuthinite, bismuthous

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

How to use bismuth in a sentence

When Cornella heard a speaker at a 2014 conference say that bismuth was nontoxic, he was sure it was a mistake.
Josep Cornella breaks boundaries to make new and better catalysts|Anna Gibbs|September 29, 2022|Science News
To do this, they coated the bismuth material with a magnetic film.
Tiny swimming robots may help clean up a microplastics mess|Stephen Ornes|September 10, 2021|Science News For Students
Several years ago, a team of physicists at Stanford University led by Aharon Kapitulnik was trying to grow a thin layer of bismuth crystal on a metallic surface.
Turing Patterns Turn Up in a Tiny Crystal|Elena Renken|August 10, 2021|Quanta Magazine
The polished metal of the second piece contrasts such seemingly corroded entries as Tishan Hsu’s machine-mimicking wood-and-metal “New Portable” and Catherine Czudej’s ceramic panels covered with bismuth crystals.
In the galleries: A sizzling exhibit crackles with creativity|Mark Jenkins|July 23, 2021|Washington Post

British Dictionary definitions for bismuth

bismuth

/ (ˈbɪzməθ) /

noun

a brittle pinkish-white crystalline metallic element having low thermal and electrical conductivity, which expands on cooling. It is widely used in alloys, esp low-melting alloys in fire safety devices; its compounds are used in medicines. Symbol: Bi; atomic no: 83; atomic wt: 208.98037; valency: 3 or 5; relative density: 9.747; melting pt: 271.4°C; boiling pt: 1564±5°C

Derived forms of bismuth

bismuthal (ˈbɪzməθəl), adjective

Word Origin for bismuth

C17: from New Latin bisemūtum, from German Wismut, of unknown origin

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 bismuth

bismuth

[ bĭz′məth ]

A brittle, pinkish-white, crystalline metallic element that occurs in nature as a free metal and in various ores. Bismuth is the most strongly diamagnetic element and has the highest atomic number of all stable elements. It is used to make low-melting alloys for fire-safety devices. Atomic number 83; atomic weight 208.98; melting point 271.3°C; boiling point 1,560°C; specific gravity 9.747; valence 3, 5. See Periodic Table.