silicon

noun

sil·​i·​con ˈsi-li-kən How to pronounce silicon (audio) ˈsi-lə-ˌkän How to pronounce silicon (audio)
: a tetravalent nonmetallic element with atomic number 14 that occurs combined as the most abundant element next to oxygen in the earth's crust and is used especially in semiconductors, in ferrosilicon for steelmaking, and in other alloys
often used before another noun
silicon chips
silicon carbide
see Chemical Elements Table

Examples of silicon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In the new study, by limiting how much the silicon’s thickness could vary across the chip, the researchers developed a way to use much simpler 2D simulations to model the devices. IEEE Spectrum, 4 Mar. 2024 Nvidia currently dominates the market for AI silicon with chips including the A100 and H100 tailor-made for AI applications. Trefis Team, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 Intel failed to anticipate the importance of mobile computing a decade ago and also lost its manufacturing edge by choosing not to adopt the most advanced lithography techniques used to carve out silicon chips. Will Knight, WIRED, 21 Feb. 2024 Like past APUs, these are actually laptop silicon (in this case, the Ryzen 7040/8040 series, codenamed Phoenix and Phoenix 2) repackaged for a desktop processor socket. Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 29 Jan. 2024 This includes a set of software and silicon tools deployed within a vehicle. Steve McDowell, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024 In 2022, the US government passed the CHIPS Act promising $52 billion to reinvigorate domestic chipmaking and secure silicon supply lines. Will Knight, WIRED, 21 Feb. 2024 The New York Times has an interesting piece on how many chipmakers are slowing their plans to start churning out silicon at U.S. plants, with the likes of TSMC blaming everything from construction complexity to uncertainty about financial incentives for their delays. David Meyer, Fortune, 20 Feb. 2024 In a major strategy shift, GlobalFoundries in 2018 decided to stop the costly practice of developing new production processes that pack more transistors on each piece of silicon. Don Clark, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'silicon.' 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

New Latin silica + English -on (as in carbon)

First Known Use

1814, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of silicon was in 1814

Dictionary Entries Near silicon

Cite this Entry

“Silicon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/silicon. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

silicon

noun
sil·​i·​con ˈsil-i-kən How to pronounce silicon (audio)
ˈsil-ə-ˌkän
: a nonmetallic element that occurs combined as the most abundant element after oxygen in the earth's crust and is used especially in alloys and electronic devices see element

Medical Definition

silicon

noun
sil·​i·​con ˈsil-i-kən How to pronounce silicon (audio) ˈsil-ə-ˌkän How to pronounce silicon (audio)
: a tetravalent nonmetallic element that occurs combined as the most abundant element next to oxygen in the earth's crust and is used especially in alloys
symbol Si
see Chemical Elements Table

More from Merriam-Webster on silicon

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