Word
silicon
Phoneticssil·i·con
US/ˈsɪɫəkən/
UK/sˈɪlɪkən/
Definitions
01chemical element
n. a natural substance found in the earth that is used to make glass and electronic parts.
n. a tetravalent metalloid element used extensively in the manufacture of glass, concrete, and ceramics.
“Silicon is the second most common element in the Earth's crust after oxygen.”
“The purity of the silicon used in industrial manufacturing determines the quality of the resulting glass and ceramic products.”
Usage
Uncountable when referring to the element in general.
Pitfall
The kitchen tools are made of silicon.
The kitchen tools are made of silicone.
Do not confuse 'silicon' (the hard element used in computers) with 'silicone' (the flexible, rubber-like plastic).
Synonyms
02computing technology
n. a word for computer chips or the technology industry.
n. the semiconductor material used in integrated circuits; often used metonymically for the hardware or the industry itself.
“The company is designing its own silicon to make the new phones faster.”
“The shift toward custom silicon has allowed laptop manufacturers to achieve significantly better battery life than they could with off-the-shelf processors.”
Informal · Technical
Teaching tip
In business and tech news, 'silicon' often refers to the physical hardware or the chips themselves, as opposed to the software.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Real-World Examples
“Solar cells made from perovskites rather than silicon are always a tale of trade-offs.” Etymology
Coined by Scottish chemist Thomas Thomson as a modification of the earlier name silicium, from the stem of Latin silex (“flint, silica”) + -on from carbon.
From the silicon chips used in computers.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Related words
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/silicon