silicon
noun
ˈsi-lə-ˌkän\
Definition of silicon
: 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 ferrosilicon for steelmaking, in other alloys, and in semiconductors — see Chemical Elements Table
Examples of silicon in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Unlike metals, silicon resists corrosion and remains stable when temperatures change. — Michael Clerizo, WSJ, "The Future of Watches: 3-D Printed Cases and Robot Horologists," 31 July 2018 Each part was made out of silicon that was shaped and molded to match Dalton’s leg. — Liana Satenstein, Vogue, "Fecal Matter Has Made Its Photoshopped Skin Shoes Into Actual Wearable Heels—And They're $10,000," 24 Oct. 2018 Like, 300 percent, which can cause the silicon to break apart. — Ezra Dyer, Popular Mechanics, "Your Gadgets' Battery Life Could Be About to Get Much Better," 19 Oct. 2018 At least for now, silicon PV has won the market race. — David Roberts, Vox, "Robots, floating power plants, and 2-sided panels, oh my: solar tech’s near future," 29 Aug. 2018 Since the silicon factory days of the 1970s, people have struggled to draw clear lines around Silicon Valley. — Owen Thomas, San Francisco Chronicle, "Draw your own vision of Silicon Valley," 12 Mar. 2018 The company bakes silicon and germanium at extremely high temperatures, up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, which allows them to realign atoms into a perfect diamond lattice structure. — Paul Brinkmann, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Vibration from Orlando City Stadium construction damaged high-tech business next door, lawsuit says," 31 May 2018 These include crystalline silicon and molybdenum disulfide. — Charles Q. Choi, Scientific American, "Building Sails for Interstellar Probes Will Be Tough, But Not Impossible," 10 May 2018 Some analysts have suggested new silicon is needed to make smartwatches running Google’s Wear OS operating system more competitive against the market leading Apple Watch. — Mike Freeman, sandiegouniontribune.com, "New Qualcomm chip aims to power smartwatches for kids," 27 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'silicon.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for silicon
silicon
noun
English Language Learners Definition of silicon
: a chemical element that is found in the Earth's crust and is used especially in computers and electronics
See the full definition for silicon in the English Language Learners Dictionary
silicon
noun
ˈsi-lə-ˌkän\
Kids Definition of silicon
: a chemical element that next to oxygen is the most common element in the earth's crust and is used especially in electronic devices
silicon
noun
ˈsil-ə-ˌkän
\
Medical Definition of silicon
: 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
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on silicon
What made you want to look up silicon? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Late Autumn 2018 Words of the Day Quiz
-
- Which is a synonym of yahoo?
Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Share silicon
Resources for silicon