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# sulfur

noun (sulfur — uncountable; UK also sulphur); adjective sulfurous/sulphurous, sulfuric/sulphuric

«sulfur» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (science) Sulfur is a chemical element, a yellow non-metal with the symbol S and atomic number 16. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sulfur/#m1)
2. When it burns or forms some compounds, it makes a smell like rotten eggs. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sulfur/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science lessons, sulfur is found near volcanoes and hot springs as yellow crystals; it is used to make sulfuric acid, matches, rubber and fertilisers. In the Bible, "fire and brimstone" — brimstone is an old word for sulfur — is used for God's punishment. The rotten-egg smell is actually from a sulfur compound, hydrogen sulfide.

### Examples

- Sulfur is a bright yellow element. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sulfur/#x1)
- Yellow sulfur crystals form around volcanoes. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sulfur/#x2)
- The hot spring smelt of sulfur, like rotten eggs. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sulfur/#x3)
- Sulfur's chemical symbol is S. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sulfur/#x4)
- Matches contain sulfur. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sulfur/#x5)
- (Bible) "Brimstone" is an old name for sulfur. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sulfur/#x6)
- Our bodies need a little sulfur, found in eggs and onions. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sulfur/#x7)

### Note

Spelling: "sulfur" is the scientific standard (IUPAC) and the US spelling; "sulphur" is the traditional British, Irish, Australian and NZ spelling, still common. Both are correct. Pure sulfur does not smell much; its compounds do.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «sulfur» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sulfur/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«sulfur» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/sulfur.html) on Mova free.