plutonium
noun /pluːˈtəʊniəm/
/pluːˈtəʊniəm/
[uncountable] (symbol Pu)
- a chemical element. Plutonium is radioactive and is used in nuclear weapons and in producing nuclear energy.Extra ExamplesTopics Physics and chemistryc2
- the capability to enrich uranium or reprocess plutonium
- one ton of plutonium extracted from spent nuclear fuel
- the plane that dropped a plutonium bomb on the city of Nagasaki
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- radioactive
- weapons-grade
- extract
- produce
- recover
- …
- fuel
- production
- bomb
- …
Word Origin1940s: from Greek ‘Pluto’, on the pattern of neptunium, being the next planet beyond Neptune.