PLUTONIUM

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does plutonium mean? 

• PLUTONIUM (noun)
  The noun PLUTONIUM has 1 sense:

1. a solid silvery grey radioactive transuranic element whose atoms can be split when bombarded with neutrons; found in minute quantities in uranium ores but is usually synthesized in nuclear reactors; 13 isotopes are known with the most important being plutonium 239

  Familiarity information: PLUTONIUM used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PLUTONIUM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A solid silvery grey radioactive transuranic element whose atoms can be split when bombarded with neutrons; found in minute quantities in uranium ores but is usually synthesized in nuclear reactors; 13 isotopes are known with the most important being plutonium 239

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

atomic number 94; plutonium; Pu

Hypernyms ("plutonium" is a kind of...):

chemical element; element (any of the more than 100 known substances (of which 92 occur naturally) that cannot be separated into simpler substances and that singly or in combination constitute all matter)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "plutonium"):

plutonium 239 (a highly fissionable isotope of plutonium that is used in atomic weapons and as a reactor fuel; produced by irradiating uranium 238 with slow electrons)

 Context examples 

Cesium Cs 137 is prevalent due to its spontaneous production, which occurs as a result of nuclear fission of other radioactive materials, such as uranium and plutonium.

(Cesium Cs 137, NCI Thesaurus)