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Definition of mercury noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

mercury

noun
 
/ˈmɜːkjəri/
 
/ˈmɜːrkjəri/
 [uncountable]
(symbol Hg)
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  1. a chemical element. Mercury is a poisonous silver liquid metal, used in thermometers.
    • Studies show very high levels of mercury in local dolphins.
    Topics Physics and chemistryc2
    Oxford Collocations DictionaryMercury is used before these nouns:
    • emission
    • poisoning
    • pollution
    • …
    See full entry
    Word OriginMiddle English: from Latin Mercurius, from merx, merc- ‘merchandise’. Mercury is the Roman god of eloquence, skill, trading and thieving, as well as being herald and messenger of the gods.
See mercury in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee mercury in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: mercury

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trait
noun
 
 
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