sulfur
Americannoun
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Chemistry. Also a nonmetallic element that exists in several forms, the ordinary one being a yellow rhombic crystalline solid, and that burns with a blue flame and a suffocating odor: used especially in making gunpowder and matches, in medicine, in vulcanizing rubber, etc. S; 32.064; 16; 2.07 at 20° C.
noun
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A pale-yellow, brittle nonmetallic element that occurs widely in nature, especially in volcanic deposits, minerals, natural gas, and petroleum. It is used to make gunpowder and fertilizer, to vulcanize rubber, and to produce sulfuric acid. Atomic number 16; atomic weight 32.066; melting point (rhombic) 112.8°C; (monoclinic) 119.0°C; boiling point 444.6°C; specific gravity (rhombic) 2.07; (monoclinic) 1.957; valence 2, 4, 6.
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See Periodic Table
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sulfur
1300–50; Middle English sulphur < Latin sulpur, sulphur, sulfur brimstone, sulfur
Vocabulary lists containing sulfur
Rocks and Minerals - Middle School and High School
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Common Chemical Elements
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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.
Shipments of sulfur from Canada were up sharply as global supplies were constricted by the war and the squeeze on goods moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
The plant can deliver 1.4 billion cubic feet a day of sales gas and also produces ethane, condensate, liquefied petroleum gas and sulfur for domestic use and export.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
That’s because you can’t make them without sulfur, an oil derivative whose cost has increased fivefold as supply is locked behind the Strait of Hormuz.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
Phosphate fertilizer prices jumped 25% due to a fivefold increase in sulfur costs, impacting producers like Mosaic.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
My eyes were open, the sulfur stinging them, but the water was dark and my hair was wrapped around my face and I couldn’t see anything.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
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.
