argon

ar·gon | \ ˈär-ˌgän

Definition of argon

: a colorless odorless inert gaseous element found in the air and in volcanic gases and used especially in welding, lasers, and electric bulbs — see Chemical Elements Table

Examples of argon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Physicists hope that these experiments — or rival WIMP detectors that use materials such as germanium and argon — will make the first direct detection of dark matter. — Elizabeth Gibney, Scientific American, "Last Chance for WIMPs: Physicists Launch All-Out Hunt for Dark-Matter Candidate," 8 Oct. 2020 Air is 78 percent nitrogen and just under 21 percent oxygen, and the rest is water vapor, CO2, and small concentrations of noble gases such as neon and argon. — Ezra Dyer, Popular Mechanics, "Should You Really Put Nitrogen in Your Car Tires?," 28 Sep. 2020 Radiation enters the chamber and interacts with the gas inside, which is usually helium, neon, or argon. — Courtney Linder, Popular Mechanics, "Wait ... Apple Helped the U.S. Government Build a Top-Secret iPod?," 20 Aug. 2020 In contrast to MiniBooNE's 800-metric-ton detector vat of mineral oil, the CCM detector contains 10 metric tons of liquid argon. — William Charles Louis, Scientific American, "Hidden Neutrino Particles May Be a Link to the Dark Sector," 1 July 2020 Thanks to the work of preservationists—and sometimes despite their best efforts—those of us in the 21st century can see the fragile pages at the center of this celebration, shrouded in a cocoon of invisible argon gas. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "The Science of Saving the Declaration of Independence," 3 July 2020 Potassium has a radioactive isotope that decays into argon. — Eliot Bush, Scientific American, "The Meaning of Time in the Place where Humanity's Earliest Ancestors Arose," 27 June 2020 Air, and therefore sky, is made of essential elements: nitrogen, oxygen, argon—all gases that are colorless, tasteless, abundant. — Gretel Ehrlich, The Atlantic, "We Are All Living the Same Moment," 2 May 2020 By contrast, air is cooled to extremely low temperatures where its components—such as nitrogen, argon, and oxygen—become liquids. — Alex Davies, Wired, "The Cold, Hard Work of Delivering Oxygen to Ventilators," 19 Apr. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'argon.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Argon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/argon. Accessed 23 Jan. 2021.

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More Definitions for argon

argon

noun

English Language Learners Definition of argon

: a chemical element that is a colorless gas and that is used in various products (such as lasers and some electric light bulbs)

See the full definition for argon in the English Language Learners Dictionary

argon

noun

ar·gon | \ ˈär-ˌgän

Medical Definition of argon

: a colorless odorless inert gaseous element found in the air and in volcanic gases and used especially in lasers and electric bulbs —symbol Ar — see Chemical Elements Table

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