niobium

N1I1O1B3I1U1M3
/naɪˈoʊbiəm/

noun

A chemical element (symbol Nb) with an atomic number of 41: a light grey, crystalline, ductile transition metal used in superconducting materials.

Similar
columbiumdianiumNbatomic number 41
OriginEnglish Niobe ← Ancient Greek Νιόβη (Nióbē) →
UncommonScrabble 11
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Meanings

nounniobium (countable and uncountable, plural niobiums)

plural niobiums

  1. countableuncountableA chemical element (symbol Nb) with an atomic number of 41: a light grey, crystalline, ductile transition metal used in superconducting materials.

    One should use hypoallergenic jewelry made of surgical grade stainless steel, titanium, 14- or 18-karat gold, or niobium, especially for initial piercings.

    2024, David Golinkin, “Is Body Piercing Permitted According To Jewish Law”, in Responsa in a Moment, volume 4, page 196
  2. countableA single atom of this element.

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
columbiumdianium

nouna soft grey ductile metallic element used in alloys; occurs in niobite; formerly called columbium

Similar
Nbatomic number 41
Broader
metallic elementmetal

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Ancient GreekΝιόβη (Nióbē)
  2. EnglishNiobe
  3. Englishniobium

From Niobe + -ium, because of the element's affinity with tantalum, named after Niobe's father Tantalus.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans niobium
  • niobiumchemical element
Arabic نِيُوبِيُوم
  • نِيُوبِيُوم (niyūbiyūm)chemical element
Basque niobioa
  • niobioachemical element
Bulgarian нио́бий
  • нио́бий (nióbij)chemical element
Catalan niobi
  • niobichemical element
Chinese Mandarin 鈮 /铌
  • 鈮 /铌 (ní)chemical element
Czech niob
  • niobchemical element
Danish niobium
  • niobiumchemical element
Dutch niobium
  • niobiumchemical element
Esperanto niobo, niobio
  • niobochemical element
  • niobiochemical element
Estonian nioobium
  • nioobiumchemical element
Finnish niobi, niobium
  • niobichemical element
  • niobiumchemical element
French niobium
  • niobiumchemical element
German Niob
  • Niobchemical element
Greek νιόβιο
  • νιόβιο (nióvio)chemical element
Hebrew ניוביום
  • ניוביום (niyobyum)chemical element
Hindi काशातु
  • काशातु (kāśātu)chemical element
Hungarian nióbium
  • nióbiumchemical element
Icelandic nióbín
  • nióbínchemical element
Irish niaibiam
  • niaibiamchemical element
Italian niobio
  • niobiochemical element
Japanese ニオブ
  • ニオブ (niobu)chemical element
Korean 니오브, 니오븀
  • 니오브 (niobeu)chemical element
  • 니오븀 (niobyum)chemical element
  • 콜럼븀 (kolleombyum)chemical element
  • 나이오븀 (naiobyum)chemical element
Latvian niobijs
  • niobijschemical element
Lithuanian niobis
  • niobischemical element
Malay niobium
  • niobiumchemical element
Norwegian Bokmål niob
  • niobchemical element
Polish niob
  • niobchemical element
Portuguese nióbio
  • nióbiochemical element
Romanian niobiu
  • niobiuchemical element
Russian нио́бий
  • нио́бий (nióbij)chemical element
Scottish Gaelic niòibiam
  • niòibiamchemical element
Slovak niób
  • nióbchemical element
Spanish niobio
  • niobiochemical element
Swedish niob
  • niobchemical element
Tagalog kolumbyo
  • kolumbyochemical element
Tamil களங்கன்
  • களங்கன் (kaḷaṅkaṉ)chemical element
Thai ไนโอเบียม
  • ไนโอเบียม (nai-oo-bîiam)chemical element
Turkish niyobyum
  • niyobyumchemical element
Ukrainian ніо́бій
  • ніо́бій (nióbij)chemical element
Vietnamese niobi
  • niobichemical element
Welsh niobiwm
  • niobiwmchemical element
Cite this entry
APA

niobium. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/niobium

MLA

“niobium.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/niobium. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “niobium,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/niobium.

Source: niobium on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.