tellurium

American  

[te-loor-ee-uhm] / tɛˈlʊər i əm /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a rare, lustrous, brittle, crystalline, silver-white element resembling sulfur in its properties, and usually occurring in nature combined with gold, silver, or other metals of high atomic weight: used in the manufacture of alloys and as a coloring agent in glass and ceramics. Te; 127.60; 52; 6.24.

---

tellurium British  

/ tɛˈlʊərɪəm /

noun

1. a brittle silvery-white nonmetallic element occurring both uncombined and in combination with metals: used in alloys of lead and copper and as a semiconductor. Symbol: Te; atomic no: 52; atomic wt: 127.60; valency: 2, 4, or 6; relative density: 6.24; melting pt: 449.57±0.3°C; boiling pt: 988°C

---

tellurium Scientific  

/ tĕ-lr′ē-əm /

1. A metalloid element that occurs as either a brittle, shiny, silvery-white crystal or a gray or brown powder. Small amounts of tellurium are used to improve the alloys of various metals. Atomic number 52; atomic weight 127.60; melting point 449.5°C; boiling point 989.8°C; specific gravity 6.24; valence 2, 4, 6.

2. See Periodic Table

---

Etymology

Origin of tellurium

< New Latin (1798), equivalent to Latin tellūr- (stem of tellūs ) earth + -ium

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tellurium

It can also be applied to other chiral materials such as tellurium, selenium, and hybrid organic/inorganic perovskites.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 19, 2026

These include tungsten, which is difficult to source and a crucial material for the aerospace industry, tellurium, widely used for solar panels, and molybdenum, which is used to strengthen steel alloys.

From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2025

Theoretical modeling suggested kilonovas should produce tellurium, but the detection of a spectral line by the James Webb Space Telescope provided experimental evidence.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 29, 2024

Another close call is tellurium, which is used in industrial solar farms and where there may be only slightly more estimated resources than what would be required in a big green push.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 27, 2023

The deposit of tellurium is of a bluish black color.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 441, June 14, 1884. by Various