nuclide
Americannoun
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an atomic species in which the atoms all have the same atomic number and mass number.
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an individual atom in such a species.
noun
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An atomic nucleus identified by its atomic element and its mass number. For example, a carbon-14 nuclide is the nucleus of a carbon atom, which has six protons, with mass number 14 (thus having eight neutrons).
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See also isotope
Etymology
Origin of nuclide
1945–50; nucl(eo)- + -ide < Greek eîdos shape
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.
Along this pathway across the nuclide chart, a common sequence involves beta decay of the parent nucleus followed by the release of two neutrons.
From Science Daily • Mar. 13, 2026
This large-scale collaboration combined field surveys, marine sediment studies, cosmogenic nuclide dating, and advanced coupled climate-ocean modeling to reconstruct how the Antarctic ice-ocean system evolved.
From Science Daily • Nov. 9, 2025
Critics questioned that age estimate, and scientists revised the date to at least 900,000 years old after using a complex technique called cosmogenic nuclide dating.
From Washington Post • Dec. 5, 2022
The minimum amount necessary for self-sustained fission of a given nuclide is called its critical mass.
From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015
Spontaneous fission can occur, but this is usually not the most common decay mode for a given nuclide.
From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015
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.
