curie
part of speech
noun (a curie, curies — a science unit); a name (Curie)
meaning for a pupil
1) (a name) Marie Curie was a scientist born in Poland who worked in France; she discovered the elements radium and polonium, studied radioactivity, and was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person to win two in different sciences. Pierre Curie was her husband and work partner. tree →
2) A curie is an old unit for measuring radioactivity, named after the Curies. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science and history lessons about famous scientists and women in science, Marie Curie is a role model who worked very hard when women were not welcome in science. She did not know how dangerous radioactivity was, and she became ill from it; her notebooks are still radioactive. In the UK, Marie Curie is also the name of a charity that cares for people who are dying. Phrases: Marie Curie, the Curies, Marie Curie nurses.
examples
- Marie Curie won two Nobel Prizes. tree →
- Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium. tree →
- Marie Curie studied radioactivity. tree →
- Her notebooks are still radioactive and are kept in lead boxes. tree →
- Marie Curie was born in Poland. tree →
- The Marie Curie charity helps people at the end of their lives. tree →
- Radioactivity can be measured in curies. tree →
- We dressed up as Marie Curie for our science day. tree →
note
As a name: capital C, Curie; pronounced «KYOOR-ee». As a unit: small c, symbol Ci; today scientists mostly use the becquerel instead. The element curium is named after the Curies. It is not an ordinary English word you use for something else.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «curie» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.