Meaning
mercury
- the chemical element Hg, a heavy silvery-white liquid metal
- the column of mercury inside a traditional thermometer
In a sentence
I vecchi termometri contenevano mercurio liquido all'interno.
Old thermometers contained liquid mercury inside.
Oggi il mercurio è salito oltre i trentacinque gradi all'ombra.
Today the mercury rose above thirty-five degrees in the shade.
Questo pesce non contiene alti livelli di mercurio.
This fish does not contain high levels of mercury.
Word forms (2)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| mercurio | masculine · singular |
| mercuri | masculine · plural |
Usage notes
- Uncountable when referring to the chemical element.
- Commonly used figuratively in weather reports: 'il mercurio sale/scende' (temperatures rise/fall).