nonmetal

/nɑnˈmɛtl/

Other forms: nonmetals

In chemistry, an element that isn't shiny and isn't a good conductor of heat or electricity is a nonmetal. Hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen are all nonmetals.

Most elements are classified as metal: they're lustrous and dense, and you have to get them extremely hot to melt them. The 23 nonmetal elements are mainly gases, like helium and nitrogen, though bromine is a nonmetal liquid and several, like sulfur, are solids. Nonmetal, "not metal," was first used in the 1860s.

Definitions of nonmetal

1. adjective

   not containing or resembling or characteristic of a metal
   synonyms: nonmetallic

   metalloid

   of or being a nonmetallic element that has some of the properties of metal
2. noun

   a chemical element lacking typical metallic properties
   type of:

   chemical element, element

   any of the more than 100 known substances (of which 92 occur naturally) that cannot be separated into simpler substances and that singly or in combination constitute all matter