AU

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

I. (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A unit of length used for distances within the solar system; equal to the mean distance between the Earth and the Sun (approximately 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers)

Synonyms:

Astronomical Unit; AU

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Hypernyms ("AU" is a kind of...):

astronomy unit (a linear unit used for astronomical distances)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A soft yellow malleable ductile (trivalent and univalent) metallic element; occurs mainly as nuggets in rocks and alluvial deposits; does not react with most chemicals but is attacked by chlorine and aqua regia

Synonyms:

atomic number 79; Au; gold

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("Au" is a kind of...):

noble metal (any metal that is resistant to corrosion or oxidation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "Au"):

24-karat gold; pure gold (100 per cent gold)

gold dust (the particles and flakes (and sometimes small nuggets) of gold obtained in placer mining)

green gold (a gold alloy (at least 14 karat gold with silver or silver and cadmium) that has a green appearance)

guinea gold (22-karat gold from which guinea coins were made)

Holonyms ("Au" is a substance of...):