PLUTONIUM


Meaning of PLUTONIUM in English

■ noun the chemical element of atomic number 94, a dense silvery radioactive metal of the actinide series, used as a fuel in nuclear reactors and as an explosive in nuclear fission weapons. (Symbol: Pu )

Origin

1940s: from Pluto , on the pattern of neptunium (Pluto being the next planet beyond Neptune).

Concise Oxford English vocab.      Сжатый оксфордский словарь английского языка.