xenon

[ zee-non, zen-on ]

nounChemistry.

a heavy, colorless, chemically inactive, monatomic gaseous element used for filling radio, television, and luminescent tubes. Symbol: Xe; atomic weight: 131.30; atomic number: 54.

Origin of xenon

1898; <Greek xénon, neuter of xénos strange (see -on²); name introduced by William Ramsay, the element's discoverer

Words Nearby xenon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use xenon in a sentence

The detector is designed to look for dark matter particles crashing into xenon atoms’ nuclei, causing them to recoil.
A new dark matter experiment quashed earlier hints of new particles | Emily Conover | July 22, 2022 | Science News
Scientists scaled up the search to allow for a better chance of spying the particles, with each detector containing multiple tons of liquid xenon.
A supersensitive dark matter search found no signs of the substance — yet | Emily Conover | July 7, 2022 | Science News
Noble gases like argon and xenon, for instance, dissolve more in cold water than in warm water, along a precisely known temperature curve.
What it’s like to drink water that’s 15,000 years old | Grunes et al./The Conversation | October 10, 2021 | Popular-Science
So this gas giant should not have acquired nitrogen, argon, krypton or xenon ice.
Born in deep shadows? That could explain Jupiter’s strange makeup | Ken Croswell | August 6, 2021 | Science News For Students
If so, that means Saturn arose in a warmer region and so should not have acquired nitrogen, argon, krypton or xenon ice.
A shadowy birthplace may explain Jupiter’s strange chemistry | Ken Croswell | July 6, 2021 | Science News

They measured the amount of different isotopes of xenon trapped in quartz crystals.
The Moon’s Been Lying About Its Age | Matthew R. Francis | June 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The remaining elements of this group—neon, krypton, and xenon—have been obtained from liquid air.
An Elementary Study of Chemistry | William McPherson
The evidence for the existence of krypton and xenon is, however, inconclusive.
Astronomical Curiosities | J. Ellard Gore
Aristarchus combated “the paradox of xenon,” and it does not seem to have had much acceptance in antiquity.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 5 | Various
That report was enough to make a man quit his job and go to xenon to start a chicken ranch or grow oranges.
The Moralist | Jack Taylor
The animals on xenon are immune from them, but when they land on a man, they send out tiny rootlets that are like minute hairs.
The Moralist | Jack Taylor

British Dictionary definitions for xenon

xenon

/ (ˈzɛnɒn) /

noun

a colourless odourless gaseous element occurring in trace amounts in air; formerly considered inert it is now known to form compounds and is used in radio valves, stroboscopic and bactericidal lamps, and bubble chambers. Symbol: Xe; atomic no: 54; atomic wt: 131.29; valency: 0; density: 5.887 kg/m³; melting pt: –111.76°C; boiling pt: –108.0°C

Origin of xenon

C19: from Greek: something strange

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

Scientific definitions for xenon

xenon

[ zē′nŏn′ ]

A colorless, odorless element in the noble gas group occurring in extremely small amounts in the atmosphere. It was the first noble gas found to form compounds with other elements. Xenon is used in lamps that make intense flashes, such as strobe lights and flashbulbs for photography. Atomic number 54; atomic weight 131.29; melting point -111.9°C; boiling point -107.1°C; density (gas) 5.887 grams per liter; specific gravity (liquid) 3.52 (-109°C). See Periodic Table.

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