From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcobaltco‧balt /ˈkəʊbɔːlt $ ˈkoʊbɒːlt/ noun [uncountable] 1 HCEa shiny silver-white metal that is often combined with other metals or used to give a blue colour to substances such as glass. It is a chemical element: symbol Co2 (also cobalt blue) a bright blue-green colour —cobalt adjective
Examples from the Corpus
cobalt• During irradiation, food is exposed to gamma rays from sources such as cobalt 60 or cesium 137.• The range of the artist's palette widened to include cobalt blue, ultramarine, chrome yellow and viridian green.• The metals probably include chromium, manganese, cobalt, vanadium, nickel, tungsten and tantalum.• Meteorite metals contain about 0. 5 percent cobalt, which sells for about $ 15 a pound.• The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital's cobalt unit opened only last September after a massive public fund-raising drive.• In modern commercial synthesis graphite is mixed with a metal solvent - cobalt or nickel is used today.• Uranium shutters, that shield the cobalt radioactive source until the patient is in position, were found to be crumbling.• The result was a glorious panoply of sensual colour ranging from vibrant cobalt to cool mauve-blue, from sunflower yellow to melon.Origin cobalt (1600-1700) German kobalt, from kobold “goblin”; because goblins were thought to mix it in with silver found in the ground 