yellowcake

American  

[yel-oh-keyk] / ˈjɛl oʊˌkeɪk /

Or yellow cake

noun

1. a processed oxide of uranium, U 3 O 8 , extracted and concentrated from uranium ore: used as the raw material for commercial nuclear materials, especially fuel elements in nuclear reactors.

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Etymology

Origin of yellowcake

First recorded in 1945–50; yellow + cake

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

yellowcake

The spot price of U3O8, a lightly processed concentrate known as yellowcake that is used to make fuel for nuclear reactors, is at its highest since early February, according to market-data firm UxC.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Once mined, uranium is milled to produce what is called calcined yellowcake, and then enriched, either at facilities in Canada or overseas, to create fuel for nuclear reactors.

From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2024

Here, two roads diverge: you can either create highly-enriched weapons-grade yellowcake, or low-enrichment yellowcake for nuclear reactor fuel.

From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2024

Estimates put the Libyan stockpile at some 1,000 metric tons of yellowcake uranium under Gadhafi, who declared his nascent nuclear weapons program to the world in 2003 after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 25, 2023

But the body estimated in 2013 that some 6,400 barrels of yellowcake remained in southwestern Libya, and its inspectors have continued efforts to inspect Libyan sites.

From New York Times ● Mar. 16, 2023