From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishseleniumse‧le‧ni‧um /səˈliːniəm/ noun [uncountable] HCEa poisonous chemical substance, used in electrical instruments to make them sensitive to light. It is a chemical element: symbol Se
Examples from the Corpus
selenium• Other minerals required by the body are selenium, manganese, sodium, and other trace elements.• Cells of the bacteria were heavily mineralised with uranium, calcium, vanadium, bismuth, selenium and sulphur.• Scientists have found selenium in fish and ducks in the Bay and have linked it to malformed birds.• Examples of semiconducting materials include silicon, germanium, selenium and gallium arsenide.• Another help is selenium, a vital trace element: one brazil nut will provide your daily needs.• So he replaced the diaphragm with a piece of light-sensitive selenium, connected in series with a battery and telephone earpiece.• This incoming beam was focused on to the selenium which changed its resistance according to the strength of the light.• Uranium, selenium and calcium are concentrated in cell walls whereas bismuth and sulphur are concentrated within the cells.Origin selenium (1800-1900) Modern Latin Greek selene “moon” 