atomic
Americanadjective
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of, pertaining to, resulting from, or using atoms, atomic energy, or atomic bombs.
an atomic explosion.
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propelled or driven by atomic energy.
an atomic submarine.
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Chemistry. existing as free, uncombined atoms.
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extremely minute.
adjective
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of, using, or characterized by atomic bombs or atomic energy
atomic warfare
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of, related to, or comprising atoms
atomic hydrogen
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extremely small; minute
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logic (of a sentence, formula, etc) having no internal structure at the appropriate level of analysis. In predicate calculus, Fa is an atomic sentence and Fx an atomic predicate
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Relating to an atom or to atoms.
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Employing nuclear energy.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of atomic
Explanation
Something that has to do with atoms is atomic. Atomic structure, for example, means the way an atom is organized and what it's made of. You'll often find the word atomic specifically describing power or weapons — in this case, atomic means the process of either splitting an atom, known as fission, or joining two atoms, fusion, to create energy. Also, every chemical element has its own atomic number, which is the number of protons in the nucleus of one of the element's atoms. Atomic comes from the Latin atomus, "indivisible particle," from the Greek atomos, "uncut" or "indivisible."
Vocabulary lists containing atomic
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STAAR U.S. History 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"This is not yet at the level of the world's best optical atomic clocks, but for a first prototype it is a fantastic result," says Thorsten Schumm.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
After the U.S. dropped atomic bombs to end World War II, the New York Times invoked Old Testament language when writing that the technology had “sowed the whirlwind.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
The potential advantage of nuclear clocks comes from the extraordinary properties of atomic nuclei.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
To evaluate his framework, Yarahmadian and his collaborators compared its results with laboratory measurements obtained through atomic force microscopy.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
Arrests, indictments, and a torrent of media coverage flooded the case of the atomic spies.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
