ceramic

American  

[suh-ram-ik] / səˈræm ɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to products made from clay and similar materials, as pottery and brick, or to their manufacture.

   ceramic art.

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noun

1. ceramic material.

ceramic British  

/ sɪˈræmɪk /

noun

1. a hard brittle material made by firing clay and similar substances

2. an object made from such a material

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or made from a ceramic

   this vase is ceramic

2. of or relating to ceramics

   ceramic arts and crafts

ceramic Scientific  

/ sə-răm′ĭk /

1. Any of various hard, brittle, heat- and corrosion-resistant materials made typically of metallic elements combined with oxygen or with carbon, nitrogen, or sulfur. Most ceramics are crystalline and are poor conductors of electricity, though some recently discovered copper-oxide ceramics are superconductors at low temperatures.

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Etymology

Origin of ceramic

1840–50; variant of keramic < Greek keramikós, equivalent to kéram ( os ) potters' clay + -ikos -ic

Explanation

Something that's ceramic is made out of clay and baked in a kiln until it's very hard. If you sign up for a pottery class, you will almost certainly make ceramic bowls. Ceramics, also known as pottery, describes any dishes or other items made from hardened clay. You might have ceramic tile in your bathroom or kitchen, or a beautiful ceramic vase on your mantle. If you're an artist who makes clay sculptures, your art form itself is also ceramics. The word comes from the Greek keramos, "potter's earth."

Example Sentences

The business was founded in 1851 and has gone on to become one of the country's best-known ceramic brands.

From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026

SharkSafe Barriers are made from recyclable plastic and ceramic magnets.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026

In 1993, scientists discovered a mercury-based copper-oxide ceramic called Hg1223 that reached superconductivity at minus 140 degrees C, or 133 K. That material held the ambient-pressure record for more than 30 years.

From Science Daily • May 27, 2026

Instead of the one-click default to your laptop’s last opened tab, you opened Etsy and bought a ceramic mug from a maker you’d been following on Instagram.

From Salon • May 27, 2026

None of those uses of the wheel was adopted in the Americas, where wheels are attested only in Mexican ceramic toys.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• brick
• earthenware
• porcelain
• stoneware
• tile