lutetium

noun

lu·​te·​tium lü-ˈtē-sh(ē-)əm How to pronounce lutetium (audio)
: a metallic chemical element of the rare-earth group that has few practical applications but is sometimes used as a catalyst in cracking and as a radiation source for treatment of certain cancers see Chemical Elements Table

Examples of lutetium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web What gave Dias’ most recent paper its pizzazz was its claim to have produced superconductivity in a compound of the artificial metal lutetium and hydrogen and doped with nitrogen, at about 69.5 degrees Fahrenheit and 145,000 pounds per square inch of pressure. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 10 Nov. 2023 The new material, called nitrogen-doped lutetium hydride, is a blend of hydrogen, the rare-earth metal lutetium and nitrogen. Sophie Bushwick, Scientific American, 10 Mar. 2023 After the retraction by Physical Review Letters, most of the authors of the lutetium hydride paper concluded that the research from their paper was flawed too. Kenneth Chang, New York Times, 7 Nov. 2023 In the Nature paper, Dr. Dias and his co-authors described how lutetium hydride — a material made of lutetium, a silvery-white metal, and hydrogen — gained new electronic properties when a tiny bit of nitrogen was added. Kenneth Chang, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2023 The team at Rochester started with a small, thin foil of lutetium, a silvery white metal that is among the rarest of rare earth elements, and pressed it between two interlocking diamonds. Kenneth Chang, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2023 Salamat has used imaging methods that reveal where the heavy lutetium atoms are within the compound, but the team isn’t yet certain about the configuration of the lighter hydrogen and nitrogen atoms. Sophie Bushwick, Scientific American, 10 Mar. 2023 For the past few years, Dias’ team has worked on a superhydride based on lutetium. Quanta Magazine, 8 Mar. 2023 The results, published today in Nature, appear to show that a conventional conductor — a solid composed of hydrogen, nitrogen and the rare-earth metal lutetium — was transformed into a flawless material capable of conducting electricity with perfect efficiency. Quanta Magazine, 8 Mar. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lutetium.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Latin Lutetia, ancient name of Paris

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lutetium was in 1907

Dictionary Entries Near lutetium

Cite this Entry

“Lutetium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lutetium. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

lutetium

noun
lu·​te·​tium lü-ˈtē-sh(ē-)əm How to pronounce lutetium (audio)
: a soft metallic chemical element see element

Medical Definition

lutetium

noun
lu·​te·​tium
variants also lutecium
: a metallic element of the rare-earth group
symbol Lu
see Chemical Elements Table

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