silicon

noun

sil·​i·​con ˈsi-li-kən  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

Solidion’s innovative anode design uses flexible rubber to incorporate silicon into the anode. —Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 16 Dec. 2025

Investors have piled into the name in recent weeks on enthusiasm about the company’s successful release of its Gemini 3 AI model , its image generation and editing model Nano Banana Pro and its latest custom silicon chip and growing Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) business. —Pia Singh, CNBC, 14 Dec. 2025

The team found that molecules such as silicon monoxide, water vapor, and aluminum monoxide appear exactly where clumpy dust clouds were seen in the VLT data. —Robert Lea, Space.com, 11 Dec. 2025

The lever is nickel-phosphate and the balance spring is made of silicon. —Carol Besler, Robb Report, 2 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin silica + English -on (as in carbon)

First Known Use

1814, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing silicon

• silicon carbide
• silicon dioxide
• silicon nitride

Kids 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 

: 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