sulfur

[suhl-fer]

noun

1. Chemistry.,  Also a nonmetallic element that exists in several forms, the ordinary one being a yellow rhombic crystalline solid, and that burns with a blue flame and a suffocating odor: used especially in making gunpowder and matches, in medicine, in vulcanizing rubber, etc. S; 32.064; 16; 2.07 at 20° C.

2. sulphur.

sulfur

/ ˈsʌlfə /

noun

1. the US preferred spelling of sulphur

sulfur

1. A pale-yellow, brittle nonmetallic element that occurs widely in nature, especially in volcanic deposits, minerals, natural gas, and petroleum. It is used to make gunpowder and fertilizer, to vulcanize rubber, and to produce sulfuric acid. Atomic number 16; atomic weight 32.066; melting point (rhombic) 112.8°C; (monoclinic) 119.0°C; boiling point 444.6°C; specific gravity (rhombic) 2.07; (monoclinic) 1.957; valence 2, 4, 6.

2. See Periodic Table

Word History and Origins

Origin of sulfur¹

1300–50; Middle English sulphur < Latin sulpur, sulphur, sulfur brimstone, sulfur

Example Sentences

Greenwood’s graphic details are vivid and disturbing, from screaming that is “a high unnatural wail that could shrivel souls like salted slugs” to air “powdered with concrete and sulfur.”

From Los Angeles Times

From the surface layer of the Earth’s oceans, DMS, which is a volatile chemical, escapes into the air, joining the atmospheric cycling of sulfur.

From Salon

They are formed when bacteria break down amino acids containing sulfur.

From Salon

Dimethyl sulfide is the largest natural source of atmospheric sulfur on Earth, which means that it gets into the atmosphere and cycles around.

From Salon

They're worried about PFAs plumes in their ground, poisoning their water, or whether or not their air is poisoned by sulfur dioxide from a smokestack next to them.

From Salon