rare earth

American  

noun

Chemistry.

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

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rare earth British  

noun

1. any oxide of a lanthanide

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

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Etymology

Origin of rare earth

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rare earth

That could reduce dependence on newly mined resources, lower the environmental footprint of materials production, and strengthen domestic supplies of critical minerals and rare earth elements.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026

"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

Deep magmatic systems are often associated with deposits of lithium and rare earth elements.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026

Chad Bown of the Peterson Institute for International Economics believes Trump is missing a chance to address bigger problems like China's rare earth export curbs.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

The rare earth metals are found in the minerals gadolinite, samarskite, fergusonite, euxenite and cerite.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 7 "Equation" to "Ethics" by Various