From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishuraniumu‧ra‧ni‧um /jʊˈreɪniəm/ noun [uncountable] HCEHCMa heavy white metal that is radioactive and is used to produce nuclear power and nuclear weapons. It is a chemical element: symbol U
Examples from the Corpus
uranium• First, the breakup of the Soviet Union has created a situation without accountability for warheads, missiles and uranium.• For example, if groundwater solutions had dissolved some of the lead produced by uranium decay, the age would be underestimated.• Among the refractory materials found in the lunar samples are refractory compounds of uranium and thorium.• The mass of uranium soon becomes so hot that it melts and disperses, a phenomenon called meltdown.• It is located throughout the grains of minerals that contain traces of uranium and thorium, not on grain surfaces.• The government intends to publish a plan by the end of April for closing down all of the country's uranium mines.• Radon comes from the uranium that occurs naturally in the ground.Origin uranium (1700-1800) Modern Latin Uranus; because the substance was discovered soon after the planet 