Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of various oxides of the rare-earth elements.
- noun A rare-earth element.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun chemistry
naturally occurring oxides of thelanthanide metals ; they are widelydistributed in relatively smallconcentrations and are used inglassmaking ,ceramic glazes etc
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun any element of the lanthanide series (atomic numbers 57 through 71)
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[rare (because the minerals from which the rare-earth elements were first isolated are uncommon) + earth, metallic oxide.]
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Examples
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frogapplause commented on the word rare earth
"The Prius hybrid automobile is popular for its fuel efficiency, but its electric motor and battery guzzle rare earth metals, a little-known class of elements found in a wide range of gadgets and consumer goods."
--Reuters
August 31, 2009
fbharjo commented on the word rare earth
common ground - rarely refound
an exercise of hum(us)ilty
September 29, 2011