atoms
Use Atoms in a sentence
əm noun
1.
Physics.
a.
the smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element, consisting of a nucleus containing combinations of neutrons and protons and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus by electrical attraction; the number of protons determines the identity of the element.
b.
an atom with one of the electrons replaced by some other particle: muonic atom; kaonic atom.
2.
Energy. this component as the source of nuclear energy.
3.
a hypothetical particle of matter so minute as to admit of no division.
4.
anything extremely small; a minute quantity.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English attomos, athomus < Latin atomus < Greek átomos, noun use of átomos undivided, equivalent to a- a-6 + tomós divided, verbid of témnein to cut
1350–1400; Middle English attomos, athomus < Latin atomus < Greek átomos, noun use of átomos undivided, equivalent to a- a-6 + tomós divided, verbid of témnein to cut
Synonyms
4. shred, speck, scintilla, iota, jot, whit.
4. shred, speck, scintilla, iota, jot, whit.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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|
Link To atoms
00:10
Atoms
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
atom (ˈætəm) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a. the smallest quantity of an element that can take part in a chemical reaction |
| b. See also atomic structure this entity as a source of nuclear energy: the power of the atom | |
| 2. | any entity regarded as the indivisible building block of a theory |
| 3. | See also atomism the hypothetical indivisible particle of matter postulated by certain ancient philosophers as the fundamental constituent of matter |
| 4. | a very small amount or quantity; minute fragment: to smash something to atoms; there is not an atom of truth in his allegations |
| [C16: via Old French and Latin, from Greek atomos (n), from atomos (adj) that cannot be divided, from | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
atom
late 15c., as a hypothetical body, the building block of the universe, from L. atomus (especially in Lucretius), from Gk. atomos "uncut," from a- "not" + tomos "a cutting," from temnein "to cut" (see tome). An ancient term of philosophical speculation (in Leucippus, Democritus),
revived 1805 by British chemist Dalton. Atom bomb is from 1945 as both a noun and a verb; cf. atomic.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
atom at·om (āt'əm)
n.
A unit of matter, the smallest unit of an element, having all the characteristics of that element and consisting of a dense, central, positively charged nucleus surrounded by a system of electrons. The entire structure has an approximate diameter of 10-8 centimeter and characteristically remains undivided in chemical reactions except for limited removal, transfer, or exchange of certain electrons.
This unit regarded as a source of nuclear energy.
A part or particle considered to be an irreducible constituent of a specified system.
The irreducible, indestructible material unit postulated by ancient atomism.
An extremely small part, quantity, or amount.
a·tom'ic (ə-tŏm'ĭk) adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
atom  (āt'əm) Pronunciation Key
The smallest unit of an element, consisting of at least one proton and (for all elements except hydrogen) one or more neutrons in a dense central nucleus, surrounded by one or more shells of electrons. In electrically neutral atoms, the number of protons equals the number of electrons. Atoms remain intact in chemical reactions except for the removal, transfer, or exchange of certain electrons. Compare compound. See also ion, isotope, orbital. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
In that high place in the darkness the two oddly sensitive human atoms held each other tightly and waited.
All matter is made of atoms, and atoms are composed of smaller particles.
T he properties of materials depend on how their atoms are arranged.
But then atoms do not have surfaces, they extend to infinity in all directions.
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