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oxygen

noun

Simple meaning

The chemical element with an atomic number of 8 and relative atomic mass of 15.9994.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ahksuhjuhn

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɑksədʒən

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. Molecular oxygen (O₂), a colorless, odorless gas at room temperature, also called dioxygen.

  2. The chemical element (symbol O) with an atomic number of 8 and relative atomic mass of 15.9994. It is a colorless and odorless gas.

  3. medicine

    A mixture of oxygen and other gases, administered to a patient to help them breathe.

  4. countable

    An atom of this element.

  5. figurative

    A condition or environment in which something can thrive.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Varies by meaning

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Molecular oxygen (O₂), a colorless, odorless gas at room temperature, also called dioxygen.

Used this way, oxygen is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a scientific use: it names something precisely within a field of study, so it appears in research and teaching more than in conversation.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Specialist/technical
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Specialized
Connotation
Clinical and technical
Usage feel
Technical and specialized

Where it naturally appears

  • Science
  • Academic writing
  • Technical/specialist writing

Usage note

In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

oxygen demandoxygen saturationoxygen consumptionoxygen contentoxygen concentrationoxygen supplyoxygen atomoxygen tension

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • oxygenationnounDerived noun

    The process of providing or combining or treating with oxygen.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • oxygen masknounCompound term

    A breathing device that is placed over the mouth and nose.

  • oxygen debtnounCompound term

    A cumulative deficit of oxygen resulting from intense exercise.

  • oxygen deficitnounCompound term

    Temporary oxygen shortage in cells resulting from strenuous exercise.

  • oxygen acidnounCompound term

    Any acid that contains oxygen.

  • liquid oxygennounCompound term

    A bluish translucent magnetic liquid obtained by compressing gaseous oxygen and then cooling it below its boiling point.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.