: 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
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Courtesy of Fairphone Fairphone says the new device is made with more than 50 percent fair and recycled materials, including cobalt sourced through the Fair Cobalt Alliance, fair gold, silver, and tungsten, and recycled aluminum and rare earth metals.
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Julian Chokkattu, Wired News, 28 June 2025
China currently has far greater access to Congo’s mineral wealth than the United States, while the European Union has negotiated with Rwanda, agreeing to give it about $935 million in return for access to minerals like tin, tungsten and gold.
—Ruth MacLean, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2025
Lighting in homes was shifting from tungsten to decorative lights and fluorescents.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 17 May 2025
The eastern Congo region in particular has many valuable resources, including rare minerals such as tantalum and tungsten.
—Yinka Adegoke, semafor.com, 25 June 2025
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Julian Chokkattu, Wired News, 28 June 2025
China currently has far greater access to Congo’s mineral wealth than the United States, while the European Union has negotiated with Rwanda, agreeing to give it about $935 million in return for access to minerals like tin, tungsten and gold.
—Ruth MacLean, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2025
Lighting in homes was shifting from tungsten to decorative lights and fluorescents.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 17 May 2025
The eastern Congo region in particular has many valuable resources, including rare minerals such as tantalum and tungsten.
—Yinka Adegoke, semafor.com, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for tungsten
Cite this Entry
“Tungsten.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tungsten. Accessed 24 Aug. 2025.
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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 TableLove words? Need even more definitions?
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