Silicon Valley

American  

noun

1. the area in northern California, southwest of San Francisco in the Santa Clara valley region, where many of the high-technology design and manufacturing companies in the semiconductor industry are concentrated.

---

Silicon Valley British  

noun

1. an industrial strip in W California, extending S of San Francisco, in which the US information technology industry is concentrated

2. any area in which industries associated with information technology are concentrated

---

Silicon Valley Cultural  

1. A region on the San Francisco Peninsula in California where the miniaturized electronics industry is centered, so called because most of the devices built there are made of semiconductors such as silicon.

---

Discover More

The term is often used as a catchword to describe the development of high-tech industry (see also high-tech): “If we can attract this corporation to our town, we could become another Silicon Valley.”

Etymology

Origin of Silicon Valley

So called from the silicon wafers employed in semiconductor devices

Example Sentences

The case for a higher deposit insurance limit is framed as an answer to incidents like the Silicon Valley Bank collapse in 2023.

From Barron's

The Silicon Valley giant teamed up with Range Media Partners earlier this year to commission short films about artificial intelligence that have less doomsday depictions of technology.

From Los Angeles Times

Streamers owned by Silicon Valley firms have lured top talent away from traditional Hollywood studios with massive contracts -- despite filmmakers' concerns that they rarely show movies on the big screen in theaters for extended runs.

From Barron's

Robots from around the world converged on Silicon Valley to provide a glimpse of a potential future.

From Los Angeles Times

Such is the life of the teenage venture capitalist at the Harker School in Silicon Valley.

From The Wall Street Journal