often attributive
: an intensely radioactive metallic chemical element that occurs in combination in minute quantities in minerals (such as pitchblende or carnotite), emits alpha particles and gamma rays to form radon, and is used chiefly in the treatment of cancer and in radiographic devices see Chemical Elements Table
Examples of radium in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Eventually discovering the harmful effects of radium, Panerai later introduced a new luminous material aptly named Luminor, which gave way to a new collection of the same name.
—
Cait Bazemore, Robb Report, 14 July 2024
The discovery of radium and other radioactive metals opened the doors to administering higher doses of radiation to target cancers located deeper within the body.
—Discover Magazine, 8 July 2024
Today, the lab, preserved with some of its original equipment and archives, and its adjacent galleries tell the story of the Curie family’s impact on science, the radium craze that followed its 1898 discovery and the history of radioactivity in cancer treatment.
—Shoshi Parks, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 July 2024
Two decades before Marie Curie’s discovery of radium in 1898, radioactivity and its pernicious health effects remained poorly understood.
—Corrado Nai, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for radium 
Cait Bazemore, Robb Report, 14 July 2024
The discovery of radium and other radioactive metals opened the doors to administering higher doses of radiation to target cancers located deeper within the body.
—Discover Magazine, 8 July 2024
Today, the lab, preserved with some of its original equipment and archives, and its adjacent galleries tell the story of the Curie family’s impact on science, the radium craze that followed its 1898 discovery and the history of radioactivity in cancer treatment.
—Shoshi Parks, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 July 2024
Two decades before Marie Curie’s discovery of radium in 1898, radioactivity and its pernicious health effects remained poorly understood.
—Corrado Nai, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for radium
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Cite this Entry
“Radium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/radium. Accessed 20 Aug. 2024.
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Medical Definition
radium
noun
ra·di·um
ˈrād-ē-əm 
often attributive
: an intensely radioactive shining white metallic element that resembles barium chemically, that occurs in combination in minute quantities in minerals (as pitchblende or carnotite) principally as the isotope of mass number 226 formed from uranium 238, having a half-life of 1620 years, and emitting alpha particles and gamma rays to form radon, and that is used chiefly in luminous materials and in the treatment of cancer
—symbol Ra
see Chemical Elements Table
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