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siderophile

American  
[sid-er-uh-fahyl] / ˈsɪd ər əˌfaɪl /

adjective

  1. (of a cell or tissue) having an affinity for iron.

  2. Geology. (of a chemical element in the earth) having an affinity for metallic iron.

noun

  1. a siderophile element, tissue, or cell.

Etymology

Origin of siderophile

sidero- 1 + -phile

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.

Peters, B. J., Day, J. M. D. & Taylor, L. A. Early mantle heterogeneities in the Réunion hotspot source inferred from highly siderophile elements in cumulate xenoliths.

From Nature • Feb. 27, 2018

Fractionation of siderophile elements in the Earth’s upper mantle.

From Nature • Nov. 28, 2017

Kadlag, Y. & Becker, H. Highly siderophile and chalcogen element constraints on the origin of components of the Allende and Murchison meteorites.

From Nature • Nov. 28, 2017

This theory requires gold and other siderophile elements to be more soluble than has previously been thought, otherwise insufficient quantities would have dissolved in the magma.

From BBC • Sep. 19, 2013

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.