Meaning & use
Phosphorus
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A chemical element (symbol P, atomic number 15) essential to living cells and used in fertilizers, matches, and munitions.
See it in a sentence
Phosphorus is a key ingredient in the fertilizer spread across the fields each spring.
White phosphorus ignites spontaneously when exposed to air.
A note on using this word
Discovered in 1669 by the alchemist Hennig Brand, phosphorus takes its name from the Greek for 'light-bearer', since one form of the element glows faintly in the dark.
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