# radium

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɹeɪ.dɪ.əm/ · frequency rank #37,184

## Definitions
1. The chemical element (symbol Ra) with an atomic number of 88. It is a soft, shiny and silvery radioactive alkaline earth metal.
2. A type of cloth woven from silk or synthetic yarn, often with a shiny appearance.

## Etymology
Borrowed from French radium, from rad(ioactif) (“radioactive”) + -ium (suffix used to form the names of metallic elements).

## Easily confused with
- **Rahim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/radium-vs-rahim)
- **radius** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/radium-vs-radius)
- **radio** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/radio-vs-radium)
- **racism** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/racism-vs-radium)
- **radial** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/radial-vs-radium)
- **radish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/radish-vs-radium)

## Common misspellings (8)
`ardium`, `raddium`, `radimu`, `radiumm`, `raduim`, `raidum`, `rdaium`, `rradium`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/radium