antimony

American  

[an-tuh-moh-nee] / ˈæn təˌmoʊ ni /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a brittle, lustrous, white metallic element occurring in nature free or combined, used chiefly in alloys and in compounds in medicine. Sb; 51; 121.75.

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antimony British  

/ ˈæntɪmənɪ /

noun

1. a toxic metallic element that exists in two allotropic forms and occurs principally in stibnite. The stable form is a brittle silvery-white crystalline metal that is added to alloys to increase their strength and hardness and is used in semiconductors. Symbol: Sb; atomic no: 51; atomic wt: 121.757; valency: 0, –3, +3, or +5; relative density: 6.691; melting pt: 630.76°C; boiling pt: 1587°C

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antimony Scientific  

/ ăn′tə-mō′nē /

1. A metalloid element having many forms, the most common of which is a hard, very brittle, shiny, blue-white crystal. It is used in a wide variety of alloys, especially with lead in car batteries, and in the manufacture of flameproofing compounds. Atomic number 51; atomic weight 121.76; melting point 630.5°C (1,167°F); boiling point 1,380°C (2,516°F); specific gravity 6.691; valence 3, 5.

2. See Periodic Table

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Other Word Forms

• antimonial
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of antimony

1375–1425; late Middle English antimonie < Medieval Latin antimōnium, perhaps < dialectal Arabic uthmud

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

antimony

Over 18 months starting in July 2023, Beijing imposed export controls on gallium, germanium, graphite, antimony and some rare-earth-related manufacturing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

She wrote in her report that “heavy metals, notably lead, zinc, copper, chromium, arsenic, and antimony, were detected above laboratory reporting limits.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

The material contains micrometer-scale gold crenelated structures positioned above an insulating layer and a semiconductor made from a mixture of indium and antimony.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026

Sunshine Silver Mining & Refining, which also mines copper and antimony, a flame retardant mineral, could be a backdoor AI play given the demand for wiring in data centers.

From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026

The trail was blazed in the 1930s by a legendary Alaska miner named Earl Pilgrim; it led to antimony claims he’d staked on Stampede Creek, above the Clearwater Fork of the Toklat River.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer