English Explanatory Dictionary

atom

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The smallest possible amount of matter which still retains its identity as a chemical element, now known to consist of a nucleus surrounded by electrons.
  2. A hypothetical particle posited by Greek philosophers as an ultimate and indivisible component of matter.
  3. The smallest, indivisible constituent part or unit of something.
  4. In logical atomism, a fundamental fact that cannot be further broken down.
  5. The smallest medieval unit of time, equal to fifteen ninety-fourths of a second.
  6. A mote of dust in a sunbeam.
  7. A very small amount; a whit.
  8. An individual number or symbol, as opposed to a list; a scalar value.
  9. An integer representing a particular string.
  10. A non-zero member of a partially ordered set that has only zero below it (assuming that the poset has a least element, its "zero").
  11. An element of a set that is not itself a set; an urelement.
  12. An age group division in hockey for nine- to eleven-year-olds.
name
  1. A Meitei surname from Manipuri

Pronunciation

/ˈætəm/ [ˈæɾm̩] [ˈæɾəm] en-us-atom.ogg en-au-atom.ogg

Word forms

atom atoms

Etymology

From Middle English attome, from Middle French athome, from Latin atomus (“smallest particle”), from Ancient Greek ἄτομος (átomos, “indivisible”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + τέμνω (témnō, “to cut”, o-grade in τομ-) + -ος (-os). Atoms are so named because they were historically thought up as to be the smallest unit of matter, and thus indivisible. Doublet of atomus.

Synonyms

particle speck ace atom atomy aught bissel bit crumb glimpse dab damn dash diddly glint dot spatter drop dusting fleck glimmer hint flip flyspeck grain halfpennyworth inch iota jot lick mite modicum molecule morceau morsel mote ooch ounce pennyworth piece pinch relish scantling semblance scent scintilla scooch scrap scruple shred skerrick skoosh skosh sliver smattering smidge smidgen smidget smidgy smitch

Antonyms

coatom

Related words

atomgrad ⚛ chemical element Appendix:Subatomic particles Atomcha

Derived words

adatom atom bomb atom cocktail atomechanics atomerg atom feed atomic atomical atomically atomism atomist atomistic atomization atomize atom laser atomless atomlike atomology atom physics atompunk atomsite atom smasher atomtronics atomweight Bohr atom Boolean atom catom exotic atom Gabor atom gram atom hadronic atom Hooke's atom interatom metaatom multiatom pseudoatom Rutherford atom Rydberg atom social atom spiroatom subatom superatom vortex atom

Translations

Afrikaans: atoom Arabic: ذَرَّة Armenian: ատոմ Catalan: àtom Chinese Mandarin: 原子 Czech: atom Danish: atom Dutch: atoom Finnish: atomi French: atome Galician: átomo German: Atom Greek: άτομο Ancient Greek: ἄτομον Hawaiian: hunaʻiʻo Hebrew: אָטוֹם Hindi: परमाणु Irish: adamh Italian: atomo Japanese: 元素 Khmer: បរមាណូ Korean: 원자 Central Kurdish: ئەتۆم Latvian: atoms Manx: breneen Māori: ngota Marathi: अणू Norwegian Bokmål: atom Persian: جزء لایتجزی Persian: ذره Persian: جوهر فرد Portuguese: átomo Russian: а́том Sanskrit: परमाणु Sanskrit: अणु Spanish: átomo Swedish: atom Tagalog: atomo Thai: ปรมาณู Thai: อะตอม
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