rare earth

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. the oxide of any of the rare-earth elements contained in various minerals.

---

rare earth British  

noun

1. any oxide of a lanthanide

2. Also called: rare-earth element.  another name for lanthanide

---

Etymology

Origin of rare earth

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rare earth

"But we can absolutely put into the supply chain a very meaningful amount of heavy rare earth elements that will produce the magnets that we domestically depend upon," he added.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

Once the rare earth concentrate has been extracted from the wastewater, the individual elements must then be separated out and processed.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

Sweden has known rare earth mineral deposits in Kiruna, Bergslagen and Norra Kärr outside Gränna.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026

Its integrated power supply also employs magnets made with cobalt and samarium, which is a rare earth element.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

The same rare earth out of which the world famous Etruscan pottery is manufactured in the little village of Etrusca, near Milan, Italy.

From Young Wallingford by George Randolph Chester