osmium

[ oz-mee-uhm ]

/ ˈɒz mi əm /

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noun Chemistry.

a hard, heavy, metallic element having the greatest density of the known elements and forming octavalent compounds, as OsO4 and OsF8: used chiefly as a catalyst, in alloys, and in the manufacture of electric-light filaments. Symbol: Os; atomic weight: 190.2; atomic number: 76; specific gravity: 22.57.

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Origin of osmium

1795–1805; <New Latin <Greek osm(ḗ) smell + -ium-ium; named from the penetrating odor of one of its oxides

Words nearby osmium

osmic, osmics, osmidrosis, osmious, osmiridium, osmium, osmium tetroxide, osmo-, osmometer, osmometry, osmoregulation

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

How to use osmium in a sentence

But the osmium and uranium alloyed with it are something else.
The Planet Strappers|Raymond Zinke Gallun
Osmium 187 was stable, but it wasn't a normally used step toward Mercury 203.
The Bramble Bush|Gordon Randall Garrett
The native alloy of osmium and iridium does not alloy with gold, however, but falls to the bottom of the molten metal.
A Textbook of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines.|Cornelius Beringer and John Jacob Beringer
The gold may contain an alloy of osmium and iridium; if so, it should be weighed and treated with aqua regia.
A Textbook of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines.|Cornelius Beringer and John Jacob Beringer

Even a chemist can see that that means a lack of heavy metals—no osmium, no uranium, no radium.
Valley of Dreams|Stanley Grauman Weinbaum

British Dictionary definitions for osmium

osmium

/ (ˈɒzmɪəm) /

noun

a very hard brittle bluish-white metal occurring with platinum and alloyed with iridium in osmiridium: used to produce platinum alloys, mainly for pen tips and instrument pivots, as a catalyst, and in electric-light filaments. Symbol: Os; atomic no: 76; atomic wt: 190.2; valency: 0 to 8; relative density: 22.57; melting pt: 3033±30°C; boiling pt: 5012±100°C

Word Origin for osmium

C19: from Greek osmē smell, so called from its penetrating odour

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 osmium

osmium

[ ŏz′mē-əm ]

A hard, brittle, bluish-white metallic element that is the densest naturally occurring element. It is used to make very hard alloys for fountain pen points, electrical contacts, and instrument pivots. Atomic number 76; atomic weight 190.2; melting point 3,000°C; boiling point 5,000°C; specific gravity 22.57; valence 2, 3, 4, 8. See Periodic Table.