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sulfur

sulfur

60 2.3
A yellow element used in industry and needed by living things
  • noun
  • /ˈsʌlfər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : azufre
  • The water had an odd dark color, and a worse smell; likely a sulfur spring, I thought.
  • sulfur dioxide
  • sulfur dioxide (SO2)
  • sulfur emissions

Smells like you're in one of those sulfur bath places.

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Examples

  • In Southeast Asia, emissions of sulfur dioxide are expected to triple in the next two to three decades.

    Academic text (1999)
  • The main air pollutants subject to regulations are sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and dust.

    Academic text (1993)
  • You get that smell of sulfur.

  • What a smell of sulfur!

  • And way up here are materials like sulfur and lithium.

  • The third ingredient was sulfur, a chemical that burns bright blue.

  • Coal quality is determined by two main factors: sulfur and ash content.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Onions have sulfur in them, which help detoxify your body.

  • We turn a corner and the sulfur smell whacks us in the face like a sound barrier.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • In industry, sulfur is used to produce fertilizers and chemicals essential for agriculture.

Synonyms

S
vssulfur
  • Specialized
1 1.7

The chemical symbol for sulfur, a yellow element found near volcanoes

is the element's full name rather than a single-letter sign
native sulphur
vssulfur
  • Archaic
8.7

A bright yellow mineral that occurs as pure crystals in rocks and near volcanoes

is the broader term covering the element generally and its industrial uses

Compounds

sulfur dioxide
  • Specialized
7 4.5

A colorless gas with a strong bad smell that harms breathing and pollutes the air

1 5.3

A mine where workers dig sulfur from the ground

sulfur hexafluoride
  • Specialized
6.5

A colorless, odorless gas used to insulate electrical equipment and a strong greenhouse gas

sulfur hexafluoride
  • Specialized
4.9

A gas used in tiny bubbles to make ultrasound images clearer

9.9

A poisonous chemical used in war that causes severe blisters and eye and lung damage

sulfur bacteria
  • Specialized
5.4

Bacteria that get energy by changing sulfur or its compounds

8.1

A very large blue-grey whale that migrates in southern oceans

A small flying insect with wide yellow or orange wings

sulfur oxide
  • Specialized
5.3

Compounds made of sulfur and oxygen, often gases that pollute air like sulfur dioxide

A plant with ragged clusters of pale yellow flowers in moist high meadows

5.1

A bright pale yellow like a lemon or an egg yolk

Surface Forms

sulfur singular
sulfurs plural
sulphurs plural
sulphur singular

Etymology

Sulfur comes from Latin sulphur and was long called 'brimstone' or 'burning stone' because it burns easily and gives a strong smell. That's why sulfur is the bright yellow element we find near volcanoes and use in industry and fertilizers.