molybdenum
Molybdenum (noun) means a silvery metallic chemical element, symbol Mo and atomic number 42, that does not occur on its own in nature and is used in steel alloys. Example: “Engineers added a little molybdenum to the steel.”
How to use molybdenum
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishMolybdenum is a silvery metal, element number 42, used to make steel alloys.
It is a technical term used mainly in chemistry, metallurgy and engineering.
The word has four syllables and the stress falls on the second, so say muh-LIB-dih-nuhm.
Trace the full origin ↓Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
Engineers added a little _____ to the steel.
Etymology
The word comes from New Latin molybdaenum, which was formed from a Latin form of an Ancient Greek word for lead or a lump of lead. The Greek word itself goes back to another word meaning lead, and the English word has been recorded since the late 1700s.
