From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthalliumthal‧li‧um /ˈθæliəm/ noun [uncountable] a soft blue-white metal that is poisonous, used in photoelectric cells and to kill rats, mice, and insects. It is a chemical element: symbol Tl
Examples from the Corpus
thallium• There was no chance that Donald would diagnose thallium poisoning.• In 1861 Crookes made the discovery which brought him the necessary eminence; he identified the new element thallium.• He was probably always nipping down to Underwoods for a few grams of thallium.• He spent the next ten years in a classic investigation of thallium and its properties.• Clutching the phial of thallium in his pocket he got back into the car.• What he really wanted to write was: Henry Farr wishes some thallium to administer to his wife.• The victims, from New York's Columbia Univeristy, were undergoing dialysis to flush the thallium out of their bodies.• Maybe not, since Henry, unless he got the thallium anywhere near the chicken leg, would be feeling fine.Origin thallium (1800-1900) Modern Latin Greek thallos “new green plant part”; because it has a bright green line in its spectrum 