ruthenium
Americannoun
noun
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A rare, silvery-gray metallic element that is hard, brittle, and very resistant to corrosion. It is used to harden alloys of platinum and palladium for jewelry and electrical contacts. Atomic number 44; atomic weight 101.07; melting point 2,310°C; boiling point 3,900°C; specific gravity 12.41; valence 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
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See Periodic Table
Etymology
Origin of ruthenium
1840–50; < New Latin, named after Ruthenia (from the fact that it was first found in ore from the region); see -ium
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.
Researchers ultimately reached a consensus that bulk ruthenium dioxide does not exhibit magnetism.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026
Their calculations suggested that ruthenium dioxide should have no overall magnetization, much like an antiferromagnet.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026
During similar experiments involving ruthenium, however, the researchers found that the reactions unexpectedly produced standard 18 electron products instead.
From Science Daily ● May 22, 2026
Manganese is more than 100,000 times more common on Earth than ruthenium, yet it has rarely been used successfully in photochemical systems.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 26, 2025
We have the names in one of the tables arranged in two columns, representing, as you see, two groups—platinum, iridium, and osmium constituting one group; and ruthenium, rhodium, and palladium the other.
From The Chemical History of a Candle by Sir William Crookes
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.
