curium
[ kyoor-ee-uhm ]
/ ˈkyʊər i əm /
Save This Word!
noun
a radioactive element not found in nature but discovered in 1944 among the products of plutonium after bombardment by high-energy helium ions. Symbol: Cm; atomic number: 96.
QUIZZES
THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?
Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.
Question 1 of 8
Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?
Words nearby curium
curiosity, Curiosity killed the cat, curious, curite, Curitiba, curium, curl, curled paperwork, curler, curlew, curlew sandpiper
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for curium
British Dictionary definitions for curium
curium
/ (ˈkjʊərɪəm) /
noun
a silvery-white metallic transuranic element artificially produced from plutonium. Symbol: Cm; atomic no: 96; half-life of most stable isotope, 247 Cm: 1.6 x 10 7 years; valency: 3 and 4; relative density: 13.51 (calculated); melting pt: 1345±400°C
Word Origin for curium
C20: New Latin, named after Pierre and Marie Curie
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
Medical definitions for curium
curium
[ kyur′ē-əm ]
n. Symbol Cm
A metallic synthetic radioactive transuranic element whose longest-lived isotope is Cm 247, with a half-life of 16.4 million years. Atomic number 96.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Scientific definitions for curium
curium
[ kyur′ē-əm ]
Cm
A synthetic, silvery-white, radioactive metallic element of the actinide series that is produced artificially from plutonium or americium. Curium isotopes are used to provide electricity for satellites and space probes. Its most stable isotope has a half-life of 16.4 million years. Atomic number 96; melting point (estimated) 1,350°C; valence 3. See Periodic Table.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.