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scandium

noun
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scan·​di·​um | \ ˈskan-dē-əm How to pronounce scandium (audio) \

Definition of scandium

: a silvery-white metallic element found widely especially in association with rare earth elements and used especially in alloys and in high-intensity electric lamps — see Chemical Elements Table

Examples of scandium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In 2008, Russian suppliers of scandium, a rare-earth metal and crucial ingredient, raised their price. — Rebecca Davis O’brien And Katherine Blunt, WSJ, "How an Energy Startup’s Plan to Disrupt the Power Grid Got Disrupted," 8 Dec. 2020 Scientists have come up with several ways to purify scandium from red mud. — Robert F. Service, Science | AAAS, "Red mud is piling up. Can scientists figure out what to do with it?," 20 Aug. 2020 Ultimately, red mud could meet 10% of Europe’s demand for scandium, Balomenos says. — Robert F. Service, Science | AAAS, "Red mud is piling up. Can scientists figure out what to do with it?," 20 Aug. 2020 Researchers have recently shown that scandium-aluminum alloys are as much as 40% stronger than pure aluminum. — Robert F. Service, Science | AAAS, "Red mud is piling up. Can scientists figure out what to do with it?," 20 Aug. 2020 With names like europium, scandium and ytterbium, the bulk of rare earth minerals are extracted from mines in China, where lower wages and lax environmental standards make production cheaper and easier. — Washington Post, "US-China trade war sparks worries about rare earth minerals," 8 June 2019 Gallium and scandium, for example, were both discovered in the 1870s. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "World's Oldest Periodic Table Found in Storage," 18 Jan. 2019

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

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First Known Use of scandium

1879, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for scandium

New Latin, from Latin Scandia, ancient name of southern Scandinavian peninsula

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Time Traveler for scandium

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The first known use of scandium was in 1879

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Statistics for scandium

Last Updated

18 Dec 2020

Cite this Entry

“Scandium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scandium. Accessed 20 Jan. 2021.

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More Definitions for scandium

scandium

noun
scan·​di·​um | \ ˈskan-dē-əm How to pronounce scandium (audio) \

Medical Definition of scandium

: a white trivalent metallic element found in association with rare earth elements —symbol Sc — see Chemical Elements Table

More from Merriam-Webster on scandium

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about scandium

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