xenon

noun

xe·​non ˈzē-ˌnän  ˈze- 

: a heavy colorless and relatively inert gaseous element that occurs in air as about one part in 20 million and is used especially in specialized electric lamps (such as flash tubes) and in scientific research see Chemical Elements Table

Examples of xenon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Crewdson points out a phone booth in the background, fitting for Bridgers’ upcoming smartphone-free tour, and the xenon lamp emitting that beam of light. —Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 15 June 2026

Fans of flash photography may want to stretch their budget to get the $100 Camp Snap Pro for its more powerful xenon strobe, but the Camp Snap 2 does more than enough for $70 to earn our Editors' Choice award for inexpensive point-and-shoot cameras. —Jim Fisher, PC Magazine, 2 June 2026

That’s crucial because Psyche relies on solar-electric propulsion powered by xenon gas. —Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026

Linde also offers rare gases such as xenon and krypton that some satellites use as propellants to get into the right orbit once they’re released from the rocket. —Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 9 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Greek xénon, neuter of xénos "foreign, strange," as noun, "foreigner, stranger, visitor"

Note: The discovery of xenon was initially reported by Willliam ramsay and the British chemist Morris Travers (1872-1961) in "On the Extraction from Air of the Companions of Argon and on Neon" [presented September 8, 1898], Report of the Sixty-Eighth Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science Held at Bristol in September, 1898 (London, 1899), p. 830: "A few words may be said on the other companions of argon. The last fractions of liquefied argon show the presence of three new gases. These are krypton … metargon [a gas later shown to be argon contaminated with carbon monoxide]… and a still heavier gas, which we have not hitherto described, which we propose to name 'xenon'." The authors give no explanation of the name. In Ramsay's lecture "The Sequence of Events," given on the occasion of his acceptance of the Nobel Prize in 1904, he stated the following: "In September, 1898, the discovery of another gas was announced; it was separated from krypton by fractionation, and possessed a still-higher boiling point. We named it 'xenon' or 'the stranger'." (Les prix Nobel en 1904 [Stockholm, 1907], p. 6, in separate pagination).

First Known Use

1898, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for xenon

• acetophenone
• benzophenone

Kids Definition

xenon

noun

xe·​non ˈzē-ˌnän  ˈzen-ˌän 

: a heavy colorless gaseous element that occurs in air in minute quantities and is used especially in specialized electric lamps see element

Medical Definition

xenon

noun

xe·​non ˈzē-ˌnän  ˈzen-ˌän 

: a heavy, colorless, and relatively inert gaseous element that occurs in air as about one part in 20 million by volume

—symbol Xe see Chemical Elements Table