beryllium - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

be·ryl·li·um

Audio Help [buh-ril-ee-uh

m] Pronunciation Key

–noun Chemistry.

a steel-gray, bivalent, hard, light, metallic element, the salts of which are sweet: used chiefly in copper alloys for better fatigue endurance, in springs, and in electrical contacts. Symbol: Be; atomic weight: 9.0122; atomic number: 4; specific gravity: 1.8 at 20° C.

[Origin: 1860–65; < L béryll(us) beryl + -ium

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
beryllium

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

be·ryl·li·um Audio Help (bə-rĭl'ē-əm) Pronunciation Key
n. Symbol Be
A high-melting, lightweight, corrosion-resistant, rigid, steel-gray metallic element used as an aerospace structural material, as a moderator and reflector in nuclear reactors, and in a copper alloy used for springs, electrical contacts, and nonsparking tools. Atomic number 4; atomic weight 9.0122; melting point 1,278°C; boiling point 2,970°C; specific gravity 1.848; valence 2. See Table at element.

[From beryl.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

beryllium
noun
a light strong brittle grey toxic bivalent metallic element

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

beryllium Audio Help (bə-rĭl'ē-əm) Pronunciation Key
Symbol Be
A hard, lightweight, steel-gray metallic element of the alkaline-earth group, found in various minerals, especially beryl. It has a high melting point and is corrosion-resistant. Beryllium is used to make sturdy, lightweight alloys and aerospace structural materials. It is also used as a neutron moderator in nuclear reactors. Atomic number 4; atomic weight 9.0122; melting point 1,278°C; boiling point 2,970°C; specific gravity 1.848; valence 2. See Periodic Table.