uraniumu‧ra‧ni‧um /jʊˈreɪniəm/ noun [uncountable] 
Word Origin
Word OriginWORD ORIGINuranium
ExamplesOrigin:
1700-1800 Modern Latin Uranus; because the substance was discovered soon after the planetEXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
word sets- Among the refractory materials found in the lunar samples are refractory compounds of uranium and thorium.
- First, the breakup of the Soviet Union has created a situation without accountability for warheads, missiles and uranium.
- For example, if groundwater solutions had dissolved some of the lead produced by uranium decay, the age would be underestimated.
- It is located throughout the grains of minerals that contain traces of uranium and thorium, not on grain surfaces.
- Radon comes from the uranium that occurs naturally in the ground.
- The government intends to publish a plan by the end of April for closing down all of the country's uranium mines.
- The mass of uranium soon becomes so hot that it melts and disperses, a phenomenon called meltdown.
WORD SETS► Elements
Collocationsaluminium, nounargon, nounarsenic, nounbarium, nounbase metal, nounbismuth, nouncadmium, nouncaesium, nouncalcium, nouncarbon, nounchlorine, nounchromium, nouncobalt, nouncopper, nounferrous, adjectivegold, noungold, adjectivegolden, adjectivehalogen, nounhydro-, prefixhydrogen, nouniodine, nouniridium, nouniron, nounisotope, nounkrypton, nounlead, nounlithium, nounmagnesium, nounmanganese, nounmercury, nounmolybdenum, nounnickel, nounnitrogen, nounoxygen, nounphosphorus, nounplatinum, nounplutonium, nounpotassium, nounprecious metal, nounradium, nounradon, nounselenium, nounsilicon, nounsilver, nounsilver, adjectivesodium, nounstrontium, nountin, nountin, adjectivetitanium, nountrace element, nountungsten, nounuranium, nounxenon, nounzinc, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE► enriched
a heavy white metal that is radioactive and is used to produce nuclear power and nuclear weapons. It is a chemical element: symbol U· Some 25 pounds of enriched uranium were apparently salvaged from Osirak.· The reactor has been redesigned to run on low enriched uranium and its capacity upgraded from 5 to 10 megawatts.· Most of the world's nuclear reactors are termed thermal reactors and are fuelled by natural or enriched uranium.
NOUN► enrichment· The move is needed to secure profitability which has fallen due to world-wide over capacity in uranium enrichment.· But the size of the buildings suggests that uranium enrichment at Dimona is carried out on a relatively small scale.· Over the same period, research on advanced nuclear reactors will be eliminated and one of the two uranium enrichment plants closed.· Both also banned the development of nuclear reprocessing and uranium enrichment facilities.
► fuel· Harmful quantities of radiation are also released both before and after the uranium fuel enters the power station.· Early in 1995, six more pounds of uranium fuel turned up 1, 500 miles away in Czechoslovakia.· Alongside the other strategic arguments in its favour, the economics of the uranium fuel cycle had been taken for granted.· Bailey emphasized that officials do not want to rupture any of the 236 uranium fuel rods in the lone remaining assembly.· A large nuclear reactor will contain hundreds, if not thousands of rods filled with uranium fuel.· In a power the uranium fuel is normally stacked in disks and contained in fuel rods.
► mine· In the uranium mines, workers breathe in radioactive dust as they dig out the metal ore which contains the valuable element.· The government intends to publish a plan by the end of April for closing down all of the country's uranium mines.· The fuel for the plants came from several uranium mines located around the country.· The left's only significant victory came when delegates voted to reject any expansion of the current limit of three uranium mines.
► miner· The applicability of such data derived from uranium miners to the general population is central to the radon issue.· Can data on radon exposure and cancer risks in uranium miners be applied to the general population?
► mining· Donegal in December 1979 but the story of uranium mining actually begins three years further back.· During the campaign against uranium mining, the legitimacy of the central state was constantly challenged.
VERB► contain· Defence minister Rudolf Scharping is under pressure over the use of weapons containing depleted uranium in the Balkans.· It is located throughout the grains of minerals that contain traces of uranium and thorium, not on grain surfaces.
► deplete· As with most weapons, depleted uranium is not as deadly as its proponents-or its critics-claim.· Researchers, however, are less concerned about radioactivity than the toxic nature of depleted uranium, a heavy metal.· And it may be that depleted uranium can, after all, be shown to be benign.· The Royal Society is also conducting research on the effect of depleted uranium on health.· The company manufactures shells tipped with depleted uranium, which have been linked to leukaemia and other cancers.· Defence minister Rudolf Scharping is under pressure over the use of weapons containing depleted uranium in the Balkans.
► enrich· As little as 55 pounds of highly enriched uranium or 18 pounds of plutonium could be used to build a nuclear device.
► use· This technique has been used for uranium, copper, fluorine and other relatively soluble elements.· Radon has been used to detect uranium mineralisation and also to locate faults which may control mineral deposition.