SULFUR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does sulfur mean? 

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

1. an abundant tasteless odorless multivalent nonmetallic element; best known in yellow crystals; occurs in many sulphide and sulphate minerals and even in native form (especially in volcanic regions)

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

• SULFUR (verb)
  The verb SULFUR has 1 sense:

1. treat with sulphur in order to preserve

  Familiarity information: SULFUR used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SULFUR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An abundant tasteless odorless multivalent nonmetallic element; best known in yellow crystals; occurs in many sulphide and sulphate minerals and even in native form (especially in volcanic regions)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

atomic number 16; S; sulfur; sulphur

Hypernyms ("sulfur" 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 "sulfur"):

brimstone; native sulfur; native sulphur (an old name for sulfur)

Holonyms ("sulfur" is a substance of...):

sulfide; sulphide (a compound of sulphur and some other element that is more electropositive)

oil of vitriol; sulfuric acid; sulphuric acid; vitriol ((H2SO4) a highly corrosive acid made from sulfur dioxide; widely used in the chemical industry)

Derivation:

sulfur (treat with sulphur in order to preserve)

sulfuric (of or relating to or containing sulfur)

sulfurous (of or related to or containing sulfur or derived from sulfur)

• SULFUR (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Treat with sulphur in order to preserve

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

sulfur; sulphur

Context example:

These dried fruits are sulphured

Hypernyms (to "sulfur" is one way to...):

process; treat (subject to a process or treatment, with the aim of readying for some purpose, improving, or remedying a condition)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

sulfur (an abundant tasteless odorless multivalent nonmetallic element; best known in yellow crystals; occurs in many sulphide and sulphate minerals and even in native form (especially in volcanic regions))

 Context examples 

The rapid in-fall of matter creates an intense explosion that can fuse atoms together to create "heavy" elements, like sulfur, calcium and silicon.

(Exploding Stars Make Key Ingredient in Sand, Glass, NASA)

Forms of the element sulfur found in foods.

(Dietary Sulfur, NCI Thesaurus/CRCH)

The odor comes from bacteria in the large intestine that release small amounts of gases that contain sulfur.

(Gas, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

This gene is involved in both iron-sulfur cluster binding and electron transport.

(CISD1 Gene, NCI Thesaurus)

Vanadium and sulfur's small size and weight allow them to deliver a high capacity and energy density.

(Creating Better Lithium-Ion Batteries Made Possible with New Discovery, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

An organic compound that has sulfur incorporated into its structure and exposure to this compound can increase the risk of human cancer.

(Organo-sulfur Carcinogen, NCI Thesaurus)

CDGSH iron-sulfur domain-containing protein 1 (108 aa, ~12 kDa) is encoded by the human CISD1 gene.

(CDGSH Iron-Sulfur Domain-Containing Protein 1, NCI Thesaurus)

Macromolecular organic compounds that contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and usually, sulfur.

(Extracellular Matrix Protein, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

A selenium (Se) analogue of methionine in which sulfur is replaced with the trace element selenium.

(DL-Selenomethionine, NCI Thesaurus)

A greenish, crystalline compound with a faint amine smell and emits toxic fumes of nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides when heated to decomposition.

(Ethylene Thiourea, NCI Thesaurus)