noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈsəʊ.dɪəm/
Canada, General-American:sōʹdē-əm
Canada, General-American:/ˈsoʊ.di.əm/
Canada, General-American:[ˈsoʊ.ɾi.əm]
California:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Australian:/ˈsəʉ.di.əm/
Australian:[ˈsəʉ.ɾi.əm]
Australian:[ˈsɐʉ.ɾi.əm]some speakers
New-Zealand:/ˈsɐʉ.di.əm/
New-Zealand:[ˈsɐʉ.ɾi.əm]
rhymes with -əʊdiəm
CMU ARPABET:S OW1 D IY0 AH0 M
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The chemical element (symbol Na) with an atomic number of 11 and atomic weight of 22.990. It is a soft, waxy, silvery, reactive alkali metal that is never found unbound in nature.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Employing sodium.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: attributive, uncountable, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
a silvery soft waxy metallic element of the alkali metal group; occurs abundantly in natural compounds (especially in salt water); burns with a yellow flame and reacts violently in water; occurs in sea water and in the mineral halite (rock salt)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Na, atomic number 11
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: metallic element, metal
History
Etymology
Coined by British chemist Humphry Davy in 1808, from soda + -ium.
Across languages
Translations
123 source translations are retained for this English entry.