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

Keller, a chip industry veteran whose silicon creations have helped shift the trajectories of Apple and Tesla, joined Intel at the end of a rough decade. — Tom Simonite, WIRED, "Intel's New Chip Wizard Has a Plan to Bring Back the Magic," 3 July 2019 Sealed inside an aluminum capsule, the small silicon disc waits patiently for some future alien civilization to discover it. — Roger Simmons, orlandosentinel.com, "Apollo 11 left disc of poetic messages and humble-brags from Earth on moon," 10 May 2019 If silicon had a smell, Computex would be oozing it. — The Economist, "Taiwan’s computing titans are caught up in the US-China tech war," 6 June 2019 The complaint, filed in Lake County Circuit Court, alleges that the fire and explosion at the company, which manufactures silicon derivative products, resulted in an unknown amount of chemicals being released into the air, causing air pollution. — Frank Abderholden, Lake County News-Sun, "State and Lake County file suit to ensure cleanup following Waukegan factory explosion," 3 June 2019 If so, some of the excess metal is from initial break-in and silicon could be sealer material from assembly. — Ezra Dyer, Popular Mechanics, "For Motor Oil, How Old Is Too Old?," 6 Dec. 2018 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

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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12 Jul 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