vanadium

American

[vuh-nay-dee-uhm] / vəˈneɪ di əm /

noun

Chemistry.

a rare element occurring in certain minerals and obtained as a light-gray powder with a silvery luster or as a ductile metal: used as an ingredient of steel to toughen it and increase its shock resistance. V; 50.942; 23; 5.96.

vanadium British

/ vəˈneɪdɪəm /

noun

a toxic silvery-white metallic element occurring chiefly in carnotite and vanadinite and used in steel alloys, high-speed tools, and as a catalyst. Symbol: V; atomic no: 23; atomic wt: 50.9415; valency: 2–5; relative density: 6.11; melting pt: 1910±10°C; boiling pt: 3409°C

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

vanadium Scientific

/ və-nā′dē-əm /

A soft, bright-white metallic element that occurs naturally in several minerals. It has good structural strength and is used especially to make strong varieties of steel. Atomic number 23; atomic weight 50.942; melting point 1,890°C; boiling point 3,000°C; specific gravity 6.11; valence 2, 3, 4, 5.
See Periodic Table

Etymology

Origin of vanadium

< New Latin (1830) < Icelandic Vanad ( ís ) epithet of Freya ( Vana, genitive of Vanir Vanir + dís goddess) + New Latin -ium -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.

See Examples For:

vanadium

The nitrogenase turned out to be the simplest known example of the enzyme yet studied, while also combining structural features from all three major nitrogenase families: molybdenum, vanadium and iron-only forms.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026

The liquids usually contain the metallic element vanadium.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

In research published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A, scientists examined sodium vanadium oxide, a well-known sodium-based compound.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 19, 2026

Ionic MT said it discovered high grades of 16 different types of minerals, everything from lithium to alumina, germanium, rubidium, cesium, vanadium and niobium at the site in Utah’s Silicon Ridge.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025

Titaniferous iron ores, extensive deposits of which are known in many places, usually contain a small percentage of vanadium.

From The Economic Aspect of Geology by C. K. (Charles Kenneth) Leith

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023