“Phosphorous” or “Phosphorus”—Which to use?

“Phosphorous” or “Phosphorus”

Overview

phosphorous / phosphorus are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term. 👇

Definitions

phosphorous: (adjective) containing or characteristic of phosphorus.

phosphorus: (noun) 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.

Pronunciation

phosphorous: f·AA·s·f·er·ah·s

phosphorus: f·AA·s·f·er·ah·s

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Examples in Context

Examples of “phosphorous”

Examples of “phosphorus”

…number of necessary nutrients—including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and iron—from the substrate…
…are KREEP (potassium, rare-earth elements, phosphorus) materials, anorthosites, recrystallized norite, or…
…calcium, cholesterol, creatinine, glucose, inorganic phosphorus, proteins, and uric acid in…
…possible army use of white phosphorus munitions.
…treatment plants performing enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) and is a…
Its high phosphorus content can be identified in
…no evidence that arsenic replaces phosphorus in DNA or RNA.
…than KREEP (potassium, rare-earth elements, phosphorus) materials, included anorthosite, and recrystallized…
…(hitherto too heavily contaminated by phosphorus) and the Derwent Valley's geographical…
It is also the phosphorus analogue of gasparite-(La).

(Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions drawn from WordNet.)

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