yttrium

noun

yt·​tri·​um ˈi-trē-əm 

: a metallic element with atomic number 39 usually included in the rare-earth group that occurs usually with other rare earth elements in minerals and is used especially in phosphors, YAG lasers, alloys, and treatments for certain cancers see Chemical Elements Table

Examples of yttrium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Ukraine doesn't currently produce any rare earth metals but, according to Ukraine's Institute of Geology, possesses large deposits of such minerals, including lanthanum, cerium, neodymium and yttrium. —Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 1 Mar. 2025

And geopolitical hawks worry that China is by far the world’s biggest supplier of materials like yttrium. —Andrew Ross Sorkin, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2025

Clinicians experimented with different radioactive payloads under compassionate-use protocols that allow seriously ill patients to have access to experimental treatments, using unstable forms of elements like yttrium and indium before largely coalescing around an isotope of lutetium. —Discover Magazine, 8 July 2024

The aquatic plant contains the elements platinum and rhodium, along with rare-earth elements like neodymium, lanthanum, yttrium and dysprosium. —Devika Rao, theweek, 22 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from yttria yttrium oxide (Y₂O₃), irregular from Ytterby, town in southern Sweden

First Known Use

1814, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

yttrium

noun

yt·​tri·​um ˈi-trē-əm 

: a metallic element that occurs in minerals along with other similar uncommon elements see element

Medical Definition

yttrium

noun

yt·​tri·​um ˈi-trē-əm 

: a trivalent metallic element usually included among the rare earth elements which it resembles chemically and with which it occurs in minerals

—symbol Y see Chemical Elements Table