noun
mercury
MURK-yuu-ree
noun
1
A heavy, silvery metallic element that is liquid at room temperature and highly toxic; also called quicksilver.
"Old thermometers used mercury, which is why they're rarely made that way anymore."
"Mercury from industrial waste can poison rivers and the fish in them."
2
Informal: the reading on a thermometer or barometer, as a stand-in for temperature or pressure.
"The mercury climbed past 40 degrees by noon."
How to Use Mercury
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA toxic liquid metal, or informally, the temperature itself.
Common mistake
Lowercase "mercury" is the metal; capitalized "Mercury" is the planet or the Roman god.
Common pairings
mercury poisoning
the mercury rises
mercury thermometer
Word Forms
mercuried past tense, mercuries plural, Mercuries plural, mercuries singular
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Etymology
From Middle English mercurie, ultimately named after the Roman god Mercury, likely because of the metal's quick, fluid movement.