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
2. short for silica glass
Word origin
C19: New Latin, from Latin: silex
Examples of 'silicon dioxide' in a sentence
silicon dioxide
Silicon dioxide, though, the main ingredient of glass, created something more astounding: aerogel, the lightest solid in the world.