silicon
noun
sil·i·con
ˈsi-li-kən 
ˈsi-lə-ˌkän
ˈsi-lə-ˌkän
: a tetravalent nonmetallic element with atomic number 14 that occurs combined as the most abundant element next to oxygen in the earth's crust and is used especially in semiconductors, in ferrosilicon for steelmaking, and in other alloys
—often used before another noun
silicon chips
silicon carbide
see Chemical Elements Table
Examples of silicon in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Most cases for competing earphones use a tougher silicon material for the outside.
—
PCMAG, 21 Apr. 2024
These doodles, also known as silicon art, chip graffiti or chip art, and dozens others like it, are remnants of tech history—from Silicon Valley's infancy to the early 2000s—when innovation was rapid fire and the tech still had a very human touch.
—Alina Hartounian, NPR, 16 Apr. 2024
Such advances determine how many transistors can be packed on each small slice of silicon, which allow chips to perform calculations more quickly and store more data.
—Don Clark, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2024
Prior to designing the spiky silicon, researchers studied the structural composition of cicada and dragonfly wings, which have evolved to feature similarly sharp nanostructures capable of skewering fungal spores and bacterial cells.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 27 Mar. 2024
To build the most advanced chips, TSMC fits billions of these transistors onto silicon wafers.
—Dylan Sloan, Fortune, 10 Apr. 2024
Intel, the main dabbler in such CPUs in recent years, pushes the performance envelope with these chips, but without introducing significant changes to the silicon.
—PCMAG, 10 Apr. 2024
Though computers are made of silicon and copper, brains are not.
—S. I. Rosenbaum, The Atlantic, 7 Apr. 2024
South Korean memory chips make up the largest market share in China, and the country is behind only Japan for supplying silicon wafers to China, according to a February report from the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy cited by Bloomberg.
—Britney Nguyen, Quartz, 2 Apr. 2024
PCMAG, 21 Apr. 2024
These doodles, also known as silicon art, chip graffiti or chip art, and dozens others like it, are remnants of tech history—from Silicon Valley's infancy to the early 2000s—when innovation was rapid fire and the tech still had a very human touch.
—Alina Hartounian, NPR, 16 Apr. 2024
Such advances determine how many transistors can be packed on each small slice of silicon, which allow chips to perform calculations more quickly and store more data.
—Don Clark, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2024
Prior to designing the spiky silicon, researchers studied the structural composition of cicada and dragonfly wings, which have evolved to feature similarly sharp nanostructures capable of skewering fungal spores and bacterial cells.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 27 Mar. 2024
To build the most advanced chips, TSMC fits billions of these transistors onto silicon wafers.
—Dylan Sloan, Fortune, 10 Apr. 2024
Intel, the main dabbler in such CPUs in recent years, pushes the performance envelope with these chips, but without introducing significant changes to the silicon.
—PCMAG, 10 Apr. 2024
Though computers are made of silicon and copper, brains are not.
—S. I. Rosenbaum, The Atlantic, 7 Apr. 2024
South Korean memory chips make up the largest market share in China, and the country is behind only Japan for supplying silicon wafers to China, according to a February report from the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy cited by Bloomberg.
—Britney Nguyen, Quartz, 2 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'silicon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near silicon
Cite this Entry
“Silicon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/silicon. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
silicon
noun
sil·i·con
ˈsil-i-kən
ˈsil-ə-ˌkän
: a nonmetallic element that occurs combined as the most abundant element after oxygen in the earth's crust and is used especially in alloys and electronic devices see element
Medical Definition
silicon
noun
sil·i·con
ˈsil-i-kən
ˈsil-ə-ˌkän
ˈsil-ə-ˌkän
: a tetravalent nonmetallic element that occurs combined as the most abundant element next to oxygen in the earth's crust and is used especially in alloys
—symbol Si
see Chemical Elements Table
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