antimony

noun

an·​ti·​mo·​ny ˈan-tə-ˌmō-nē How to pronounce antimony (audio)
1
2
: a trivalent and pentavalent metalloid element with atomic number 51 that commonly occurs in a brittle, metallic, silvery white crystalline form and that is used especially in alloys, semiconductors, and flame-retardant substances see Chemical Elements Table

Examples of antimony in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The effluent, reported by the company in 2019 to have detectable levels of aluminum, nickel, antimony and fluoride, was approved for discharge into an unnamed tributary of the Ohio River. Connor Giffin, The Courier-Journal, 23 Jan. 2024 An increase of antimony, cobalt, and lead in the ocean is helping to skew sea turtle populations female. Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 10 Jan. 2024 Metals, from lead, mercury, and copper to zinc, antimony, and barium, are increasingly common in weapons and munitions, with levels of toxicity that could potentially also put selective pressure on bacteria to develop resistance to drugs. Manica Balasegaram, STAT, 28 Dec. 2023 It's not known how effective pure water would have been at leaching antimony from the pipes, although the concentration was high enough to raise concern. Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 17 Aug. 2017 Turtles from the 11 female-heavy clutches had higher amounts of antimony, cadmium, lead and cobalt in their systems, while those from the male-skewed clutches had lower levels of these metals. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Nov. 2023 The greater the average amount of the heavy metals antimony and cadmium in the hatchlings’ liver, the greater the bias towards females within the nest, the researchers said. Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 12 Nov. 2023 There was a giant crystal of antimony sulfide, stibnite, from Japan. Oliver Sacks, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019 The United States is dependent on China for a variety of essential materials, including the antimony used in night-vision goggles and nuclear weapons. Ro Khanna, Foreign Affairs, 20 Dec. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'antimony.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English antimonie, from Medieval Latin antimonium

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of antimony was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near antimony

Cite this Entry

“Antimony.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antimony. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

antimony

noun
an·​ti·​mo·​ny ˈant-ə-ˌmō-nē How to pronounce antimony (audio)
: a metallic silvery white element that is used especially in alloys and medicine see element

Medical Definition

antimony

noun
an·​ti·​mo·​ny ˈant-ə-ˌmō-nē How to pronounce antimony (audio)
plural antimonies
: a trivalent and pentavalent metalloid element that is commonly metallic silvery white, crystalline, and brittle and is used especially in alloys and semiconductors and in medicine as a constituent of various antiprotozoal agents (as tartar emetic)
symbol Sb
see Chemical Elements Table

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