yellowcake

Or yel·low cake

[yel-oh-keyk]

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of yellowcake¹

First recorded in 1945–50; yellow + cake

Example Sentences

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.

Read more on BBC

There, the ore gets turned into uranium oxide or what is commonly known as “yellowcake” because of its bright lemony color.

Read more on Salon

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.

Read more on New York Times

Once mined, the ore is converted into yellowcake, which is just concentrated uranium.

Read more on The Verge

The Pyongsan Uranium Concentration Plant and its associated mine are North Korea's only publicly acknowledged source of yellowcake, or uranium ore, according to analysts.

Read more on Reuters