Beryllium
/bəˈɹɪl.i.əm/ noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The chemical element (symbol Be) with an atomic number of 4; a soft silvery-white low density alkaline earth metal with specialist industrial applications. uncountable
- 2 a light strong brittle grey toxic bivalent metallic element wordnet
- 3 An atom of this element. countable
Example
More examples"Beryllium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, barium and radium are alkaline earth metals."
Etymology
From beryl + -ium, so called because the element is a key component of the mineral beryl.