Adjacent Words

Tungsten definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TUNG'STEN, n. In mineralogy, a mineral of a yellowish or grayish white color, of a lamellar structure, and infusible by the blowpipe. It occurs massive or crystallized, usually in octahedral crystals. This is an ore. The same name is given to the metal obtained from this ore. This metal is procured in small panes as fine as sand, of a strong metallic luster, an iron gray color, and slightly agglutinated. It is one of the hardest of the metals, and very brittle.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a heavy grey-white metallic element; the pure form is used mainly in electrical applications; it is found in several ores including wolframite and scheelite [syn: tungsten, wolfram, W, atomic number 74]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Swedish, from tung heavy + sten stone Date: 1796 a gray-white heavy high-melting ductile hard polyvalent metallic element that resembles chromium and molybdenum in many of its properties and is used especially in carbide materials and electrical components (as lamp filaments) and in hardening alloys (as steel) — see element table

Dictionary of the Elements

tungsten
Symbol: W
Atomic number: 74
Atomic weight: 183.85
White or grey metallic transition element, formerly called wolfram. Forms a protective oxide in air and can be oxidized at high temperature. First isolated by Jose and Fausto de Elhuyer in 1783.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. Chem. a steel-grey dense metallic element with a very high melting-point, occurring naturally in scheelite and used for the filaments of electric lamps and for alloying steel etc. Usage: Symb.: W. Phrases and idioms: tungsten carbide a very hard black substance used in making dies and cutting tools. Derivatives: tungstate n. tungstic adj. tungstous adj. Etymology: Sw. f. tung heavy + sten stone

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tungsten Tung"sten, n. [Sw. tungsten (cf. Dan. tungsteen, G. tungstein); tung heavy (akin to Dan. tung, Icel. [thorn]ungr) + sten stone. See Stone.] 1. (Chem.) A rare element of the chromium group found in certain minerals, as wolfram and scheelite, and isolated as a heavy steel-gray metal which is very hard and infusible. It has both acid and basic properties. When alloyed in small quantities with steel, it greatly increases its hardness. Symbol W (Wolframium). Atomic weight, 183.6. Specific gravity, 18. 2. (Min.) Scheelite, or calcium tungstate. [Obs.] Tungsten ocher, or Tungstic ocher (Min.), tungstate.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Tungsten is a greyish-white metal.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Wolframium. 2. (Min.) Tungstate of lime, scheelite.