metalloid

[ met-l-oid ]

noun
  1. a nonmetal that in combination with a metal forms an alloy.

  2. an element that has both metallic and nonmetallic properties, as arsenic, silicon, or boron.

adjective
  1. of or relating to a metalloid.

  2. resembling both a metal and a nonmetal.

Origin of metalloid

1
First recorded in 1825–35; metall- + -oid

Words Nearby metalloid

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How to use metalloid in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for metalloid

metalloid

/ (ˈmɛtəˌlɔɪd) /


noun
  1. a nonmetallic element, such as arsenic or silicon, that has some of the properties of a metal

adjectiveAlso: metalloidal (ˌmɛtəˈlɔɪdəl)
  1. of or being a metalloid

  2. resembling a metal

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for metalloid

metalloid

[ mĕtl-oid′ ]


  1. An element that is not a metal but that has some properties of metals. Arsenic, for example, is a metalloid that has the visual appearance of a metal, but is a poor conductor of electricity; metalloids are generally semiconductors. The elements classified as metalloids are boron, silicon, germanium, arsenic, antimony, tellurium, and polonium. Metalloids can be viewed as a diagonal section on the Period Table, separating metals from nonmetals.

  2. A nonmetallic element, such as carbon, that can form alloys with metals.

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