Silicon is an element that is found in sand and in minerals such as quartz and granite. Siliconis used to make parts of computers and other electronic equipment.
...a thin layer of silicon oxide.
A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.
silicon in British English
(ˈsɪlɪkən)
noun
a.
a brittle metalloid element that exists in two allotropic forms; occurs principally in sand, quartz, granite, feldspar, and clay. It is usually a grey crystalline solid but is also found as a brown amorphous powder. It is used in transistors, rectifiers, solar cells, and alloys. Its compounds are widely used in glass manufacture, the building industry, and in the form of silicones. Symbol: Si; atomic no: 14; atomic wt: 28.0855; valency: 4; relative density: 2.33; melting pt: 1414°C; boiling pt: 3267°C
b. (modifier; sometimes capital)
denoting an area of a country that contains a density of high-technology industry
Word origin
C19: from silica, on the model of boron, carbon
silicon in American English
(ˈsɪlɪˌkɑn; ˈsɪlɪkən)
noun
a nonmetallic chemical element occurring in several forms, found always in combination, and more abundant in nature than any other element except oxygen, with which it combines to form silica: used in the manufacture of transistors, solar cells, rectifiers, silicones, ceramics, etc.: symbol, Si; at. no., 14
Word origin
ModL: altered (1817, by T. Thomson (1773-1852), Scot chemist, modeled on boron, carbon, because of chemical resemblances) < silicium
Examples of 'silicon' in a sentence
silicon
The problem is that the actual electronic components imprinted on silicon chips cannot get much smaller.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Now hardware is silicon chips and software is floppy disks.
Dyson, Freeman Infinite in All Directions (1989)
It seems as if the silicon chip inside his head got switched to overload.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It contains a silicon chip with a serial number identifying the home to which it belongs.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
If you just put money into slightly improving the way silicon chips work you miss the point.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
They are not as efficient in electricity generation as the best crystalline silicon panels but they have certain advantages.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
That was done using a silicon implant and it gave me the chiselled profile of Ken.
The Sun (2013)
The pills contain a tiny silicon chip which uses stomach acid as a battery to send a signal to a patch worn above the stomach.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Everything is becoming smaller, but there is only so much that can be squeezed on to a silicon chip.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
So you're saying that nature has given us the tools and techniques we need to replace or augment silicon?
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
A potentially more practical solution is photovoltaic panels, which use silicon cells to turn sunlight into electricity.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Better still, just implant a silicon chip under the skin - it works for dogs.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
An industry source reported last night that silicon - not used in the fuel industry - had been found in the suspect unleaded petrol.
The Sun (2007)
Word lists with
silicon
chemical
In other languages
silicon
British English: silicon NOUN
Silicon is an element that is found in sand and in minerals such as quartz and granite. Silicon is used to make parts of computers and other electronic equipment.
The new chip will be made from a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.
American English: silicon
Brazilian Portuguese: silício
Chinese: 硅
European Spanish: silicio
French: silicium
German: Silizium
Italian: silicio
Japanese: ケイ素
Korean: 규소
European Portuguese: silício
Latin American Spanish: silicio
All related terms of 'silicon'
Silicon Fen
an area of Cambridgeshire , esp around the city of Cambridge , in which industries associated with information technology are concentrated
Silicon Alley
an area of New York City in which industries associated with information technology are concentrated
silicon chip
A silicon chip is a very small piece of silicon inside a computer . It has electronic circuits on it and can hold large quantities of information or perform mathematical or logical operations .
Silicon Glen
a collective term for the industries in Scotland associated with information technology , esp those concentrated in the central conurbation between Glasgow and Edinburgh
silicon carbide
an extremely hard bluish-black insoluble crystalline substance produced by heating carbon with sand at a high temperature and used as an abrasive and refractory material. Silicon carbide whiskers have a high tensile strength and are used in composites ; very pure crystals are used as semiconductors . Formula: SiC
silicon dioxide
the dioxide of silicon , occurring naturally as quartz , cristobalite , and tridymite . It is a refractory insoluble material used in the manufacture of glass, ceramics , and abrasives
Silicon Valley
an industrial strip in W California , extending S of San Francisco, in which the US information technology industry is concentrated
silicon rectifier
a rectifier consisting of a semiconductor diode using crystalline silicon
silicon-controlled rectifier
a semiconductor rectifier whose forward current between two electrodes , the anode and cathode , is initiated by means of a signal applied to a third electrode, the gate . The current subsequently becomes independent of the signal. It is a type of thyristor