silicon

noun

sil·i·con | \ ˈsi-li-kən

, 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

Further Reading The complete history of the IBM PC, part one: The deal of the century When Intel failed to meet Redactron's needs for suitable silicon for the machine, Berezin's company designed and produced its own. — Samuel Axon, Ars Technica, "Computing pioneer Evelyn Berezin died this week—she should be remembered," 15 Dec. 2018 The atoms in solids, such as silicon or diamond, are relatively stationary, but their crystalline order dramatically simplifies the equations necessary to understand their properties. — James Kakalios, WSJ, "‘Liquid Rules’ Review: Going With the Flow," 7 Mar. 2019 Most solar at the time used old-fashioned crystalline silicon panels, which have been around since the 1950s. — David Roberts, Vox, "Robots, floating power plants, and 2-sided panels, oh my: solar tech’s near future," 29 Aug. 2018 Made of a copper-silicon alloy, the navigational aids can fetch hundreds of dollars for scrap. — David Abel, BostonGlobe.com, "Someone is stealing bells and gongs from buoys in Maine," 25 June 2018 Start by using 600-grit wet/dry silicon-carbide sandpaper wrapped around a sanding block to sand smooth any big blobs of dried paint. — Joseph Truini, Popular Mechanics, "How to Safely Remove Paint," 25 Jan. 2019 The Oslo, Norway, firm recycles silicon waste from the solar industry. — Sue Shellenbarger, WSJ, "How to Overcome Your Terror of Making an Off-the-Cuff Speech," 3 Dec. 2018 According to a company spokesperson, the 802.11ay spec is theoretically capable of moving data through silicon at more than 10Gbps. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Qualcomm begins shipping 802.11ay silicon for mobile devices and applications, including VR and UHD video," 17 Oct. 2018 So, Silicon Valley was named after the silicon of the semiconductor industry. — Recode Staff, Recode, "How ‘hackers, founders, and freaks’ built Silicon Valley," 3 Aug. 2018

These 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.

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silicomagnesiofluorite

Statistics for silicon

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5 Apr 2019

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Time Traveler for silicon

The first known use of silicon was in 1817

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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

sil·i·con | \ ˈsi-li-kən

, 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

sil·i·con | \ ˈsil-i-kən

, 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