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graphite
6 dictionary results for: Graphite
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
graph·ite 
[graf-ahyt] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
[graf-ahyt] Pronunciation Key –noun
| a very common mineral, soft native carbon, occurring in black to dark-gray foliated masses, with metallic luster and greasy feel: used for pencil leads, as a lubricant, and for making crucibles and other refractories; plumbago; black lead. |
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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| graph·ite
(grāf'īt') Pronunciation Key
n. A soft, steel-gray to black, hexagonally crystallized allotrope of carbon with a metallic luster and a greasy feel, used in lead pencils, lubricants, paints, and coatings, that is fabricated into a variety of forms such as molds, bricks, electrodes, crucibles, and rocket nozzles. Also called black lead, plumbago. [Greek graphein, to write; see gerbh- in Indo-European roots + -ite1.] gra·phit'ic (grā-fĭt'ĭk) adj. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
graphite
graphite
1796, from Ger. Graphit "black lead," coined 1789 by Ger. mineralogist Abraham Gottlob Werner (1750-1817) from Gk. graphein "write;" so called because it was used for pencils.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| graphite | |
noun | |
| used as a lubricant and as a moderator in nuclear reactors |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| graphite
(grāf'īt') Pronunciation Key
A naturally occurring, steel-gray to black, crystalline form of carbon. The carbon atoms in graphite are strongly bonded together in sheets. Because the bonds between the sheets are weak, other atoms can easily fit between them, causing graphite to be soft and slippery to the touch. Graphite is used in pencils and paints and as a lubricant and electrode. It is also used to control chain reactions in nuclear reactors because of its ability to absorb neutrons.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Graphite
Graph"ite\, n. [Gr. gra`fein to write: cf. F. graphite. See Graphic.] (Min.) Native carbon in hexagonal crystals, also foliated or granular massive, of black color and metallic luster, and so soft as to leave a trace on paper. It is used for pencils (improperly called lead pencils), for crucibles, and as a lubricator, etc. Often called plumbago or black lead. Graphite battery (Elec.), a voltaic battery consisting of zinc and carbon in sulphuric acid, or other exciting liquid.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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