thin film

noun

Definition of thin film

: a very thin layer of a substance on a supporting material especially : a coating (as of a semiconductor) that is deposited in a layer one atom or one molecule thick

Examples of thin film in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Pour a thin film of olive oil into a large frying pan over medium-high heat. — Jessica Battilana, San Francisco Chronicle, "Repertoire: Asparagus With Walnut Crema and Fried Eggs," 2 May 2018 Recent tests suggest that the thin film would reflect up to 30 percent of UV light falling upon the water’s surface, helping keep the water at just the right temperature for the reef below. — Amanda Campanaro /, NBC News, "Can this ultra-thin 'sunscreen' save the world's largest coral reef?," 5 Apr. 2018 His favorite tool in this effort is yuba, the thin film that forms on the top of boiling soy milk. — Sarah Bennett, latimes.com, "O.C.-based vegan Mexican pop-ups are having a moment right now," 5 Apr. 2018 The thin film is meant to be like an umbrella that partially blocks out the sun. — Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic, "Floating Sunscreen-Like Film Could Protect the Great Barrier Reef," 27 Mar. 2018 Lightly coat a sheet of plastic wrap with a thin film of sunflower (or vegetable) oil, and place it directly over the batter. — Domenica Marchetti, chicagotribune.com, "How to make fried Sicilian St. Joseph's Day treat called sfince," 16 Mar. 2018 That explains his signature dessert, called Banksy: a thin film of smoked yogurt and chamomile cream in the shape of the famous street artist (yes, it’s made with a stencil). — New York Times, "Lake Como for a New Generation of Cool Kids," 28 Dec. 2017 The number of touch-screen liquid-crystal displays using thin film transistors installed in new vehicles globally will grow to 200 million units by 2022, nearly double the number in 2016, according to IHS Markit. — Chester Dawson, WSJ, "In Car Makers’ Digital Dash, Little Room for Error," 27 Mar. 2018 Verruckt carried passengers on a raft that cruised atop a thin film of water. — Steve Vockrodt, Tony Rizzo, Glenn E. Rice And Laura Bauer, kansascity, "Ex-Schlitterbahn executive charged with manslaughter in 2016 death on water slide | The Kansas City Star," 23 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'thin film.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about thin film

Dictionary Entries near thin film

thin-boiling starch

Statistics for thin film

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for thin film

The first known use of thin film was in 1944

See more words from the same year

Comments on thin film

What made you want to look up thin film? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

WORD OF THE DAY

rebuff

to reject or criticize sharply

Test Your Vocabulary

Words from Greek and Roman Mythology Quiz

Boreal comes from the name of the ancient Greek god of which wind?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ

SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games