Phrase guide

valence electron

noun · 2 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

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any of the electrons in the outermost shell of an atom (the valence shell); capable of forming bonds with other atoms.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: chemistry, natural-sciences, physical-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

an electron in the outer shell of an atom which can combine with other atoms to form molecules

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: electron, negatron

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

10 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 價電子 /价电子 (jiàdiàzǐ) — electron in the outermost shell of an atom
  • Dutch: valentie-elektron — electron in the outermost shell of an atom
  • Finnish: valenssielektroni — electron in the outermost shell of an atom
  • French: électron de valence — electron in the outermost shell of an atom
  • German: Valenzelektron — electron in the outermost shell of an atom
  • Greek: ηλεκτρόνιο σθένους (ilektrónio sthénous) — electron in the outermost shell of an atom
  • Irish: fiúsleictreon — electron in the outermost shell of an atom
  • Khmer: អេឡិចត្រុងវ៉ាឡង់ (ʼeeləctrong vaalɑng) — electron in the outermost shell of an atom
  • Polish: elektron walencyjny — electron in the outermost shell of an atom
  • Swedish: valenselektron — electron in the outermost shell of an atom