alkaline-earth metal: Meaning and Definition of

al'ka•line-earth' met"al

Pronunciation: (al'ku-līn"ûrth', -lin-), [key]
— Chem. Chem.
  1. any of the group of bivalent metals including barium, radium, strontium, calcium, and, usually, magnesium, the hydroxides of which are alkalis but less soluble than those of the alkali metals.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.