graphite
[graf-ahyt]
- 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.
Origin of graphite
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for graphite
Contemporary Examples
The reactor itself, a massive gridlike metal and graphite structure, 36 feet high.
But we had the graphite [reactor core] exposed to the air for four days—land for 30 kilometers around was contaminated.
Chernobyl’s Lessons for Fukushima on Earthquake’s First AnniversaryOwen Matthews, Anna Nemtsova
March 11, 2012
Historical Examples
In the oldest of the rocks there are beds of graphite, from which lead pencils are made.
The Meaning of EvolutionSamuel Christian Schmucker
Close to the filament is a graphite disk which serves as one of the electrodes.
The Automobile Storage BatteryO. A. Witte
In some instances, as in the case of graphite, the mixture may be merely mechanical.
An Elementary Study of ChemistryWilliam McPherson
The use of graphite did not become general until about 1850.
Commercial GeographyJacques W. Redway
The graphite is recovered by mechanical processes of sorting.
The Economic Aspect of GeologyC. K. Leith
graphite
- a blackish soft allotropic form of carbon in hexagonal crystalline form: used in pencils, crucibles, and electrodes, as a lubricant, as a moderator in nuclear reactors, and, in a carbon fibre form, as a tough lightweight material for sporting equipmentAlso called: plumbago
Word Origin
C18: from German Graphit; from Greek graphein to write + -ite 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for graphite
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
graphite
[grăf′īt′]
- 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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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