zinc

[ zingk ]

/ zɪŋk /

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noun

Chemistry. a ductile, bluish-white metallic element: used in making galvanized iron, brass, and other alloys, and as an element in voltaic cells. Symbol: Zn; atomic weight: 65.37; atomic number: 30; specific gravity: 7.14 at 20°C.

a piece of this metal used as an element in a voltaic cell.

verb (used with object), zincked or zinced

[zingkt], /zɪŋkt/, zinck·ing or zinc·ing

[zing-king]. /ˈzɪŋ kɪŋ/.

to coat or cover with zinc.

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Origin of zinc

1635–45; <German Zink, perhaps derivative of Zinke(n) prong, tine, from the spikelike form it takes in a furnace

OTHER WORDS FROM zinc

zincky, zincy, zinky, adjectivezincoid, adjective

Words nearby zinc

Zimbabwe, Zimbabwean, Zimbalist, zimbalon, Zimmer, zinc, zincate, zinc blende, zinc chloride, zinc green, zincic

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

How to use zinc in a sentence

Hydroxide formed at the cathode surface travels to the anode and reacts with zinc to release energy that powers other devices.
Zinc-air batteries are typically single-use. A new design could change that|Maria Temming|January 5, 2021|Science News
They work at high pH and typically use zinc as the charge carrier.
New battery chemistry results in first rechargeable zinc-air battery|John Timmer|December 31, 2020|Ars Technica
For example, studies suggest that giving zinc reduces the risk for death from a pneumonia infection.
Can supplements really help fight COVID-19? Here’s what we know and don’t know|Laura Beil|October 16, 2020|Science News
Later, the new plastic can be heated and molded again, without adding more of the zinc material.
How to recycle ‘nonrecyclable’ plastics|Kathiann Kowalski|October 2, 2020|Science News For Students

The familiar ones, like zinc and iron, help build a plant’s fruits and vegetables.
Junk Food Is Bad For Plants, Too - Issue 90: Something Green|Anne Biklé & David R. Montgomery|September 23, 2020|Nautilus
The more than 50,000 who reside in West Point live mostly in shacks made of zinc with rusted tin roofs.
Meet the Liberian Girls Beating Ebola|Abby Haglage|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But the coolest part may have been what was placed inside a zinc case in the cornerstone.
Weird Washington Monument History|William O’Connor|May 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Excess calcium causing zinc and iron deficiency offers just one simple illustration of this kind of interaction.
Big Idea: Farming Treats Cancer?|Daphne Miller|April 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And many are packed with nutrients like zinc, iron, and calcium.
Forget the Starbucks Backlash—We Should Be Eating More Bugs|Daniel Stone|April 24, 2012|DAILY BEAST
“What we made was zinc and aluminum die castings,” he told me last Friday in Lima, Ohio.
Rick Santorum’s Blue-Collar Fumble|Andrew Romano|March 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST
It is only necessary to have a zinc, or a galvanized tray on which to stand the glass in an inverted position.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
The goldfields of Australia are historic, and the silver, lead and zinc mines of Broken Hill deserve particular mention.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland|Joseph Tatlow
I am now taking, twice a day, the flowers of zinc, from which I hope to be soon right again.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick
If the zinc sulphide were not the less soluble, it would be rapidly converted into the black ferrous sulphide.
The Elements of Qualitative Chemical Analysis, vol. 1, parts 1 and 2.|Julius Stieglitz
It is a comparatively easy matter to determine the relative solubility of zinc and ferrous sulphides.
The Elements of Qualitative Chemical Analysis, vol. 1, parts 1 and 2.|Julius Stieglitz

British Dictionary definitions for zinc

zinc

/ (zɪŋk) /

noun

a brittle bluish-white metallic element that becomes coated with a corrosion-resistant layer in moist air and occurs chiefly in sphalerite and smithsonite. It is a constituent of several alloys, esp brass and nickel-silver, and is used in die-casting, galvanizing metals, and in battery electrodes. Symbol: Zn; atomic no: 30; atomic wt: 65.39; valency: 2; relative density: 7.133; melting pt: 419.58°C; boiling pt: 907°C

informal corrugated galvanized iron

Derived forms of zinc

zincic, zincous or zincoid, adjectivezincky, zincy or zinky, adjective

Word Origin for zinc

C17: from German Zink, perhaps from Zinke prong, from its jagged appearance in the furnace

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 zinc

zinc

[ zĭngk ]

A shiny, bluish-white metallic element that is brittle at room temperature but is malleable when heated. It is used in alloys such as brass and bronze, as a coating for iron and steel, and in various household objects. Zinc is essential to human and animal growth. Atomic number 30; atomic weight 65.39; melting point 419.4°C; boiling point 907°C; specific gravity 7.133 (25°C); valence 2. See Periodic Table.

zinc

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Origin of zinc

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British Dictionary definitions for zinc

Derived forms of zinc

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Scientific definitions for zinc