rare earth element

Definition of rare earth element

: any of a series of metallic elements of which the oxides are classed as rare earths and which include the elements of the lanthanide series and sometimes yttrium and scandium

— called also rare earth metal

Examples of rare earth element in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In West Virginia, Ziemkiewicz and his team at the West Virginia Water Research Institute are extracting rare earth elements from acid mine drainage. — April Johnston, Cincinnati.com, "‘That's vinegar’: The Ohio River’s history of contamination and progress made," 26 Dec. 2019 Gillette: The University of Wyoming School of Energy Research hopes to partner with the U.S. Department of Energy for research on the extraction of rare earth elements but needs local government support, The Gillette News Record reports. — USA TODAY, "Seedlings to fall far from oak, bologna bust, snowboard pioneer: News from around our 50 states," 26 Nov. 2019 From every 100,000 iPhone devices, Daisy has the potential to recover: 1500 kg aluminum, 1.1 kg gold, 6.3 kg silver, 32 kg rare earth elements, 83 kg tungsten, 1,000 kg copper, 29 kg tin, 790 kg cobalt, 1,400 kg steel, according to Apple. — Courtney Linder, Popular Mechanics, "How Apple's Sustainable iPhone Trade-In Program Works," 6 Nov. 2019 Both of these rare earth elements occur naturally in very small quantities. — Christopher R. Moore, The Conversation, "New evidence that an extraterrestrial collision 12,800 years ago triggered an abrupt climate change for Earth," 22 Oct. 2019 About 15,000 tons of rare earth elements are used annually in the U.S., which imports nearly all of them. — USA TODAY, "Hershey beer, sassafras sickness, demolition mystery: News from around our 50 states," 3 Oct. 2019 The Round Top mine site has 15 of the 17 rare earth elements, including all five needed to make magnets as well as several minerals on the U.S. government's critical minerals list, published last year. — Naomi Xu Elegant, Fortune, "How 2 American Rare Earth Companies Are Looking Past the Trade War—to Prepare for the Tech War," 10 Sep. 2019 One of them, Round Top Mountain, sits atop a treasure that belies its unassuming appearance: a rich collection of rare earth elements, including the largest deposit of heavy rare earths in the U.S. — Naomi Xu Elegant, Fortune, "How 2 American Rare Earth Companies Are Looking Past the Trade War—to Prepare for the Tech War," 10 Sep. 2019 For several years, the U.S. imported all of its rare earth elements until the Mountain Pass rare earths mine in southern California reopened last year. — Elwood Brehmer, Anchorage Daily News, "Dunleavy asks federal council to fast-track Southeast Alaska ‘rare earths’ prospect," 6 Sep. 2019

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

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about rare earth element

Dictionary Entries near rare earth element

rare earth element

Statistics for rare earth element

Last Updated

23 Feb 2020

Cite this Entry

“Rare earth element.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rare%20earth%20element. Accessed 24 Feb. 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

acumen

See Definitions and Examples »

Test Your Vocabulary

More Confusing Words—Quiz

The magician ______ moved the selected card to the top of the deck.

discretely discreetly

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.