uranium 235

noun

: a light isotope of uranium of mass number 235 that constitutes less than one percent of natural uranium, that when bombarded with slow neutrons undergoes rapid fission into smaller atoms with the release of neutrons and energy, and that is used in nuclear reactors and atomic bombs

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Perhaps the most audacious study of cosmic rays was carried out in 1931, by Auguste Piccard, Bertrand’s grandfather, an eccentric, bespectacled physicist who wrote several groundbreaking scientific papers and predicted the existence of uranium 235.

Ben Taub, The New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2022 Increasing the proportion of uranium 235 is known as enrichment.

BostonGlobe.com, 5 Nov. 2019 Increasing the proportion of uranium 235 is known as enrichment.

BostonGlobe.com, 5 Nov. 2019 The centrifuges are used to separate the rare, highly radioactive isotope, uranium 235, from the less radioactive type, uranium 238.

BostonGlobe.com, 5 Nov. 2019 Increasing the proportion of uranium 235 is known as enrichment.

BostonGlobe.com, 5 Nov. 2019 The centrifuges are used to separate the rare, highly radioactive isotope, uranium 235, from uranium 238.

David E. Sanger, New York Times, 4 Nov. 2019 Increasing the proportion of uranium 235 is known as enrichment.

BostonGlobe.com, 5 Nov. 2019 Increasing the proportion of uranium 235 is known as enrichment.

BostonGlobe.com, 5 Nov. 2019 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'uranium 235.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

First Known Use

1940, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of uranium 235 was in 1940

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Style

“Uranium 235.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uranium%20235. Accessed 2 Dec. 2022.

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Kids Definition

uranium 235

noun

: a light form of uranium of mass number 235 that when bombarded with neutrons splits rapidly into smaller atoms with the release of neutrons and atomic energy