1. any of the bivalent metals of group II of the periodic table (calcium or strontium or barium or magnesium or beryllium); [syn: alkaline earth, alkaline-earth metal]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
alkaline earth
n 1: any of the bivalent metals of group II of the periodic
table (calcium or strontium or barium or magnesium or
beryllium) [syn: alkaline earth, alkaline-earth metal]