Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1800-1900
Language: Greek
Origin: barytes 'weight'

barium

 noun
     
Related topics: Elements
ba‧ri‧um [uncountable]
1HCE a soft silver-white metal that is used to make pigments (=dry coloured powders used to make paints). It is a chemical element: symbol Ba.
2

a barium meal/enema/swallow

a substance containing barium that you swallow or that is put in your bowels before you have an X-ray, because it makes the organs in your body easier to see
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
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