tungsten

American  

[tuhng-stuhn] / ˈtʌŋ stən /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a rare, metallic element having a bright-gray color, a metallic luster, and a high melting point, 3410° C, and found in wolframite, tungstite, and other minerals: used in alloys of high-speed cutting tools, electric-lamp filaments, etc. W; 183.85; 74; 19.3.

---

tungsten British  

/ ˈtʌŋstən /

noun

1. Also called: wolfram. a hard malleable ductile greyish-white element. It occurs principally in wolframite and scheelite and is used in lamp filaments, electrical contact points, X-ray targets, and, alloyed with steel, in high-speed cutting tools. Symbol: W; atomic no: 74; atomic wt: 183.85; valency: 2–6; relative density: 19.3; melting pt: 3422±20°C; boiling pt: 5555°C

---

tungsten Scientific  

/ tŭng′stən /

1. A hard, gray to white metallic element that is very resistant to corrosion. It has the highest melting point of all elements, and it retains its strength at high temperatures. It is used to make light-bulb filaments and to increase the hardness and strength of steel. Atomic number 74; atomic weight 183.84; melting point 3,410°C; boiling point 5,900°C; specific gravity 19.3 (20°C); valence 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

2. Also called wolfram

3. See Periodic Table

---

Other Word Forms

• tungstenic
  adjective

---

Etymology

Origin of tungsten

1760–70; < Swedish, equivalent to tung heavy + sten stone

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tungsten

Defense Department has moved to wean itself off such shipments with a pending ban on Chinese tungsten, as well as a $450 million investment in a U.S. producer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

"The colleagues from Hanover and I used various methods to isolate the particles from Ukrainian soil samples and attach them to tungsten electrodes," Weissenborn explains.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026

Among projects for the extraction, refining, or recycling of strategic minerals supported by the European Union, five involve tungsten, including two mines.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

One particularly striking finding concerns tungsten, an extremely heat-resistant metal selected for the interior walls of more than a dozen next-generation fusion machines.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026

A poor pharmacist with little in the way of advanced apparatus, he discovered eight elements–chlorine, fluorine, manganese, barium, molybdenum, tungsten, nitrogen, and oxygen–and got credit for none of them.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---