tungsten

noun

tung·​sten ˈtəŋ-stən 

: a gray-white heavy high-melting ductile hard polyvalent metallic element that resembles chromium and molybdenum in many of its properties and is used especially in carbide materials and electrical components (such as lamp filaments) and in hardening alloys (such as steel) see Chemical Elements Table

Examples of tungsten in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Essentially the heat exhaust of the reactor, the divertor absorbs excess heat from the plasma into pieces of tungsten. —IEEE Spectrum, 15 July 2023

Such alternative lead weights (made of steel, tin, tungsten, and alloys) are more expensive than lead. —Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 29 Aug. 2019

Any hafnium stays happily in the mantle and keeps on decaying into tungsten, which then remains in the silicate mantle if no further core formation occurs. —Linda T. Elkins-Tanton, Scientific American, 1 Dec. 2016

The survey will be concentrated in an area of South-Central Alabama known as the Graphite Belt, and look for minerals such as aluminum, arsenic, bismuth, cobalt, germanium, graphite, rare earth metals, tin, tungsten, vanadium and others. —William Thornton | [e-mail], al, 5 May 2023

This decay happens on a regular schedule: half the hafnium turns into tungsten in nine million years. —Linda T. Elkins-Tanton, Scientific American, 1 Dec. 2016

Currently, Russia’s Svinets-1 tungsten shell is complimented by the Svinets-2 DU shell, which boosts RHA equivalent penetration from 650 up to 750 millimeters, posing more of a threat even to well-armored Leopard 2 or M1 tanks. —Popular Mechanics, 29 Mar. 2023

Lighting has been revolutionized as well, with LEDs emerging as a less power-hungry and more adjustable alternative to the tungsten lights the industry relied on for decades. —Jon Healey, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2023

Finally, the new warhead also has 18 shallow metal ovals arranged in rows around the outside; Spleeters declined to comment on the specific metal inside, but warheads are typically made of very dense metals like tungsten or tantalum. —David Hambling, Popular Mechanics, 24 Feb. 2023

See More

Word History

Etymology

Swedish, from tung heavy + sten stone

First Known Use

1796, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

tungsten

noun

tung·​sten ˈtəŋ-stən 

: a gray-white heavy hard metallic element that has many characteristics similar to chromium and molybdenum and is used especially for electrical purposes and to harden metal alloys (as steel) see element

Etymology

from Swedish tungsten, literally "heavy stone," from tung "heavy" and sten "stone"

Medical Definition

tungsten

noun

tung·​sten ˈtəŋ-stən 

: a gray-white heavy high-melting ductile hard polyvalent metallic element that resembles chromium and molybdenum in many of its properties and is used especially for electrical purposes and in hardening alloys (as steel)

—symbol W

called also wolfram

see Chemical Elements Table