phosphorus

1. 1.

   a multivalent nonmetallic element of the nitrogen family that occurs commonly in inorganic phosphate rocks and as organic phosphates in all living cells; is highly reactive and occurs in several allotropic forms

   SynonymsPatomic number 15

   Broaderchemical element
2. 2.

   a planet (usually Venus) seen just before sunrise in the eastern sky

   Synonymsmorning stardaystarLucifer

   Broaderplanet

Other forms of phosphorus

plural

phosphoruses·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about phosphorus

What does phosphorus mean?

phosphorus means "a multivalent nonmetallic element of the nitrogen family that occurs commonly in inorganic phosphate rocks and as organic phosphates in all living cells; is highly reactive and occurs in several allotropic forms". That is the primary sense; the word has 2 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in phosphorus?

phosphorus has 3 syllables: pho-spho-rus. The stress falls on "pho". In IPA it is /ˈfɑsfɚəs/.

What is another word for phosphorus?

Close synonyms include P, atomic number 15, morning star, daystar, Lucifer. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is phosphorus a common word?

phosphorus is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

What rhymes with phosphorus?

1 word rhymes with phosphorus. Rhymes are matched on the phonemes from the last stressed vowel onward, which is the definition a reader has in their head.