semimetal

noun

semi·​met·​al ˌse-mē-ˈme-tᵊl 

ˌse-ˌmī-,

-mi-

: an element (such as arsenic) possessing metallic properties in an inferior degree and not malleable

semimetallic

ˌse-mē-mə-ˈta-lik 

ˌse-ˌmī-

-mi-

adjective

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

But something that behaves like the Weyl fermion did show up in 2015, in a topological material made of exotic elements known as a Weyl semimetal. —Devin Powell, Discover Magazine, 20 Mar. 2019

Researchers have since made monolayers of metals, semimetals, insulators and more, but magnetism was the final holdout. —Sylvia Morrow, Discover Magazine, 1 Feb. 2018

Now physicists may finally observed this phenomenon, mixed axial-gravitational anomaly, in a class of exotic materials known as Weyl semimetals. —Kenneth Chang, New York Times, 19 July 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1661, in the meaning defined above