halogen
Americannoun
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halogens
plural
noun
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Any of a group of five nonmetallic elements with similar properties. The halogens are fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, and astatine. Because they are missing an electron from their outermost shell, they react readily with most metals to form salts.
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See Periodic Table
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Origin of halogen
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Explanation
A halogen is a chemical element that forms a salt when it reacts with metal. Halogen lamps are illuminated by bulbs that contain a halogen and an inert gas. There are five halogens in the periodic table of chemical elements: fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, and astatine. The halogens are all highly reactive, which means they're quick to form bonds with other elements. What they often end up becoming is some kind of salt, including common table salt. In fact, the literal translation of halogen is "salt-producer," from Greek roots hals, "salt," and gen, "giving birth to."
Vocabulary lists containing halogen
Chemistry - High School
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Structure and Properties of Matter - High School
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Example Sentences
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He did a more-than-competent job—he was Rossini after all—but the result always reminds me of shining a halogen light into a place of hallowed dim.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
The study also shows that changing the type of halogen on the surface alters how MXenes interact with electromagnetic waves.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 4, 2026
The beam is whiter, more focused and brighter than the more diffuse light from halogen lamps fitted in older cars.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2025
The housing for halogen bulbs is not compatible with LED bulbs, and a retrofitted car will not pass its annual MOT check-up.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2025
The halogen bulbs were still installed, but the wires had come loose during Artemis’s investigations.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
The researchers now want to investigate ways to confine the molten salts, potentially using halogens or carbon-based materials, which could make the salts easier to separate and process while improving their stability.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
Firstly, they are two to three times as bright as traditional halogens, and their "colour temperature" is bluer and whiter, which mimics natural daylight.
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026
A team from France and Germany has now studied the rapid decay of molecules containing halogens.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 2, 2024
The oxides of halogens, at least one of the noble gases, and metals with higher reduction potentials than copper do not form by the direct action of the elements with oxygen.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
It burns with dazzling brilliancy in oxygen, and combines directly with many other elements, especially with sulphur and the halogens.
From An Elementary Study of Chemistry by William McPherson
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