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Meaning & use

aluminium

noun·EverydayBritish

Last updated

UK/ˌæljəˈmɪniəm/
US/əˈluːmɪnəm/

Meanings

  1. noununcountablechemistry

    A light, silvery metal that does not rust easily and is used for cans, foil, aircraft and cooking pans.

    Grammar: Uncountable as a material: a sheet of aluminium.

    Patterns

    • made of aluminium
    • an aluminium something

    The bicycle frame is made of aluminium, so it is very light.

    Recycling aluminium uses far less energy than making it from raw ore.

    Aluminium is the most common metal in the Earth's crust.

  2. noununcountablechemistrytechnical

    The chemical element with the symbol Al and the atomic number 13.

    Grammar: Uncountable and not capitalized: aluminium has atomic number 13.

    Patterns

    • aluminium and something

    Aluminium appears in the periodic table between magnesium and silicon.

    Pure aluminium is soft, so it is often mixed with other metals to make alloys.

    The chemist tested whether the compound contained aluminium.

Common combinations

aluminium foil
Wrap the potatoes in aluminium foil before baking.
aluminium can
Please put the empty aluminium cans in the recycling bin.
aluminium frame
The ladder has a strong aluminium frame.
recycle aluminium
Many cities recycle aluminium from drink cans.
an aluminium alloy
The aircraft body uses an aluminium alloy.

Synonyms and how they differ

aluminum
Aluminum is the American and Canadian spelling and pronunciation of exactly the same metal.
tin
Tin is another metal and is often wrongly used for aluminium cans and foil.
silver
Silver is a more valuable metal, while aluminium only looks similar and is much cheaper.

Word family

aluminium foil noun
thin sheets of the metal used in cooking
aluminize verb
to coat something with aluminium
aluminous adjective
containing alumina or aluminium
alumina noun
aluminium oxide, the compound from which the metal is made

Commonly confused: aluminium or aluminum? aluminium or alloy?

aluminium vs aluminum

Aluminum is the American spelling of the same word, not a different substance.

aluminium vs alloy

An alloy is a mixture of metals, and aluminium alloy is one such mixture.

Practice

In British English, which spelling is used for the light silvery metal found in drink cans?

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