cad ‧ mi ‧ um /ˈkædmiəm/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
[ Date: 1800-1900 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: cadmia 'calamine' ( ⇨ ↑ calamine lotion ); because cadmium was found in the earth with calamine ]
a soft poisonous metal that is used in BATTERIES and in the protective ↑ shield s in ↑ nuclear reactor s . It is a chemical ↑ element : symbol Cd