uranium

noun, often attributive

ura·ni·um | \ yu̇-ˈrā-nē-əm

Definition of uranium

: a silvery heavy radioactive polyvalent metallic element that is found especially in uraninite and exists naturally as a mixture of mostly nonfissionable isotopes — see Chemical Elements Table

Examples of uranium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Natanz today hosts the country’s main uranium enrichment facility. — Fox News, "Iran nuclear site fire hit centrifuge facility, analysts say," 4 July 2020 Located in Iran’s central Isfahan province, Natanz hosts the country’s main uranium enrichment facility. — Jon Gambrell, USA TODAY, "US analysts say fire at Iran nuclear site hit new centrifuge production plant," 3 July 2020 The blast at the beginning of July occurred at an Iranian manufacturing plant thought to create next-generation centrifuges for enriching uranium. — Lily Hay Newman, Wired, "The Worst Hacks and Breaches of 2020 So Far," 3 July 2020 Natanz today hosts the country’s main uranium enrichment facility. — Jon Gambrell, BostonGlobe.com, "Analysts: Fire at Iran nuclear site hit centrifuge facility," 2 July 2020 The explosion at Natanz—which houses Iran’s biggest uranium enrichment facility—occurred in the early hours of the day and set fire to a building that contained no nuclear material, according to Iranian officials who visited the site. — Aresu Eqbali, WSJ, "Iran Says It Is Investigating Explosion at Main Nuclear Site," 2 July 2020 The collapse created great concern, as the Revere site at one time contained radioactive materials from the days when it was utilized for atomic bomb component and uranium rod development in the 1940s and 1950s. — Keith Matheny, Detroit Free Press, "Company behind shoreline collapse on Detroit River proposes new seawall," 17 June 2020 Under that accord, reached in 2015, Iran forfeited some 97% of its enriched uranium, which if processed further could fuel a nuclear weapon, and mothballed some three-quarters of the centrifuges needed to refine the heavy metal. — Marc Champion, Bloomberg.com, "Iran’s Coronavirus Fight Collides With U.S. Sanctions," 14 June 2020 Earlier this month, the International Atomic Energy Agency issued a classified report that showed Iran is continuing to violate nuclear deal restrictions, including enriching and stockpiling uranium. — Zachary Halaschak, Washington Examiner, "UN: Missiles used in attacks on Saudi Arabia airport and oil facility came from Iran," 12 June 2020

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

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Last Updated

7 Jul 2020

Cite this Entry

“Uranium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uranium. Accessed 9 Jul. 2020.

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More Definitions for uranium

uranium

noun

English Language Learners Definition of uranium

: a radioactive element that is used to make nuclear energy and nuclear weapons

See the full definition for uranium in the English Language Learners Dictionary

uranium

noun

ura·ni·um | \ yu̇-ˈrā-nē-əm

Kids Definition of uranium

: a radioactive metallic chemical element used as a source of atomic energy

uranium

noun

ura·ni·um | \ yu̇-ˈrā-nē-əm

Medical Definition of uranium

: a silvery heavy radioactive polyvalent metallic element that is found especially in pitchblende and uraninite and exists naturally as a mixture of three isotopes of mass number 234, 235, and 238 in the proportions of 0.006 percent, 0.71 percent, and 99.28 percent respectively —symbol U — see Chemical Elements Table

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