crystallography

noun

crys·​tal·​log·​ra·​phy ˌkri-stə-ˈlä-grə-fē How to pronounce crystallography (audio)
: a science that deals with the forms and structures of crystals
crystallographer noun

Examples of crystallography in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The researchers tried to do crystallography on it, but the results are somewhat ambiguous. John Timmer, Ars Technica, 8 Mar. 2023 The younger Bohm’s area of study was X-ray crystallography, the process of using protein crystals to defract X-rays to determine the atomic structure of a molecule. Jeremy C. Fox, BostonGlobe.com, 30 Aug. 2023 By 2010 McLellan had determined the structure of the postfusion protein using a structural imaging technique called x-ray crystallography. Tara Haelle, Scientific American, 20 Mar. 2023 Called Critical Assessment of Protein Structure Prediction (CASP), the competition uses structures newly determined using laborious lab techniques such as x-ray crystallography as benchmarks. Elizabeth Pennisi, Science | AAAS, 15 July 2021 Building on Bragg's work, other scientists have been awarded Nobel Prizes using x-ray crystallography in their research. Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 7 Feb. 2023 The AlphaFold database doesn’t spell doom for experimental biologists, those who painstakingly determine the physical structure of proteins using methods like X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Katie Palmer, STAT, 22 July 2021 The area of X-ray crystallography continues to impact the fields of chemistry, physics and medicine —and is still used to study crystalline atoms. Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 7 Feb. 2023 X-ray crystallography has produced the lion’s share of protein structures. Ewen Callaway, Scientific American, 1 Dec. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crystallography.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

crystallo- + -graphy (after French cristallographie or New Latin crystallographia)

First Known Use

1784, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of crystallography was in 1784

Dictionary Entries Near crystallography

Cite this Entry

“Crystallography.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crystallography. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

crystallography

noun
crys·​tal·​log·​ra·​phy ˌkris-tə-ˈläg-rə-fē How to pronounce crystallography (audio)
: a science that deals with the form and structure of crystals
crystallographer noun

Medical Definition

crystallography

noun
crys·​tal·​log·​ra·​phy ˌkris-tə-ˈläg-rə-fē How to pronounce crystallography (audio)
plural crystallographies
: a science that deals with the forms and structures of crystals see x-ray crystallography
crystallographer noun
crystallographic adjective
crystallographically adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on crystallography

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