niobium

noun

ni·​o·​bi·​um nī-ˈō-bē-əm 

: a lustrous light gray ductile metallic element that resembles tantalum chemically and is used in alloys see Chemical Elements Table

Examples of niobium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

So, the team at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and NASA grew sapphire crystal tubes to suspend the wiring and made the wires from niobium. —Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 19 Dec. 2024

Velasquez, a geological researcher at the Universidad de Chile explains that his research aims to understand how niobium is transported on a geological scale and how it is deposited in the Earth's crust, which is key to knowing where to look for it now. —Andrew Wight, Forbes, 12 Sep. 2024

New alloys More recent introductions are alloys such as those using titanium and particularly niobium, which increase strength by stabilizing a metal’s microstructure. —John Johnson Jr., Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Aug. 2024

Rwanda also earns sizable sums exporting tin, tantalum, and niobium—much of it also mined in Congo, according to a UN expert group and Global Witness. —Jason K. Stearns, Foreign Affairs, 26 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Latin Niobe; from its occurrence in tantalite

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

niobium

noun

ni·​o·​bi·​um nī-ˈō-bē-əm 

: a shiny gray metallic element used in alloys see element

Medical Definition

niobium

noun

ni·​o·​bi·​um nī-ˈō-bē-əm 

: a lustrous light gray ductile metallic element that resembles tantalum chemically and is used in alloys

—symbol Nb

called also columbium

see Chemical Elements Table