terbium en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úd Proto-Germanic *ūt Old Norse út Old Norse ýtrider. Swedish yttre Swedish ytter- Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- Proto-Germanic *būaną Old Norse búa Old Norse býr Old Swedish bȳr Swedish by Swedish Ytterbybor. English Ytterby Proto-Indo-European *-om Proto-Italic *-om Latin -umder. English -ium English terbium From Ytterby + -ium, named after Ytterby, Sweden. Doublet of erbium, ytterbium, and yttrium
Meanings
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(uncountable) A metallic chemical element (symbol Tb) with an atomic number of 65: a soft, silvery-white, rare earth metal that is malleable and ductile.
Myanmar is the world's third-largest source of rare earths after China and the US, and last year it accounted for almost half of the global mining of two especially important elements: dysprosium and terbium, which are essential for electric vehicles, wind turbines and certain military gear. […] The most important application of dysprosium and terbium, which belong to a subgroup known as the heavy rare earths, is in devices called neodymium boron magnets, or neo magnets for short. In small quantities, dysprosium and terbium allow neo magnets to operate at far higher temperatures than they otherwise could. Thus improved, they're key components in the drivetrains of EVs; the stronger the magnets, the more efficient an electric motor can be. They can also enhance the rotation of wind turbines and are used in the precision targeting systems of missiles.
2025 July 18, Timothy McLaughlin, “A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China's Border. The Kachin Independence Organization fought for decades in obscurity. Now it's supplying essential minerals to manufacturers around the world”, in Bloomberg Businessweek, archived from the original on 18 Jul 2025:
- (countable) A metallic chemical element (symbol Tb) with an atomic number of 65: a soft, silvery-white, rare earth metal that is malleable and ductile. ▸ An atom of this element.
Deriveds
terbium oxide · diterbium · terbic · terbate · tetraterbium · sodium terbium borate · terbia · terbian · terbium trichloride · radioterbium · terbium peroxide
Relateds
yttrium · ytterbium · erbium · terbic
Translations (70)
he טרביום (chemical element) · hu terbium (chemical element) · es terbio (chemical element) · et terbium (chemical element) · be тэ́рбій (chemical element) · sh тербиj (chemical element) · cs terbium (chemical element) · fr terbium (chemical element) · pl terb (chemical element) · hy տերբիում (chemical element) · lb Terbium (chemical element) · ja テルビウム (chemical element) · gd teirbiam (chemical element) · it terbio (chemical element) · gv çherbium (chemical element) · ast terbiu (chemical element) · sh terbij (chemical element) · hi इद्भृशला (chemical element) · fo terbium (chemical element) · csb terb (chemical element) · sl terbij (chemical element) · is terbín (chemical element) · mk те́рбиум (chemical element) · af terbium (chemical element) · cy terbiwm (chemical element) · sq terbium (chemical element) · mn терби (chemical element) · tr terbiyum (chemical element) · tg тербий (chemical element) · gl terbio (chemical element) · mt terbjum (chemical element) · uz тербий (chemical element) · ko 터븀 (chemical element) · de Terbium (chemical element) · ms terbium (chemical element) · la terbium (chemical element) · sh terbijum (chemical element) · ta தென்னிரும்பு (chemical element) · el τέρβιο (chemical element) · fi terbium (chemical element) · ru те́рбий (chemical element) · sv terbium (chemical element) · kk тербий (chemical element) · eu terbioa (chemical element) · lt terbis (chemical element) · ro terbiu (chemical element) · lv terbijs (chemical element) · fy terbium (chemical element) · bg те́рбий (chemical element) · eo terbio (chemical element) · km ទែប្យូម (chemical element) · vi tecbi (chemical element) · pt térbio (chemical element) · ca terbi (chemical element) · ar تِرْبِيُوم (chemical element) · sk terbium (chemical element) · ko 테르븀 (chemical element) · no terbium (chemical element) · ga teirbiam (chemical element) · da terbium (chemical element) · nl terbium (chemical element) · ka ტერბიუმი (chemical element) · kw terbyum (chemical element) · sh тербиjум (chemical element) · fur terbi (chemical element) · th เทอร์เบียม (chemical element) · br terbiom (chemical element) · uz terbiy (chemical element) · uk те́рбій (chemical element) · cmn 鋱 /铽 (chemical element)