atomic

American  

[uh-tom-ik] / əˈtɒm ɪk /

Also atomical

adjective

1. of, pertaining to, resulting from, or using atoms, atomic energy, or atomic bombs.

   an atomic explosion.

2. propelled or driven by atomic energy.

   an atomic submarine.

3. Chemistry. existing as free, uncombined atoms.

4. extremely minute.

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atomic British  

/ əˈtɒmɪk /

adjective

1. of, using, or characterized by atomic bombs or atomic energy

   atomic warfare

2. of, related to, or comprising atoms

   atomic hydrogen

3. extremely small; minute

4. 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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atomic Scientific  

/ ə-tŏm′ĭk /

1. Relating to an atom or to atoms.

2. Employing nuclear energy.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• atomically
  adverb
• nonatomical
  adjective
• nonatomic
  adjective
• nonatomically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of atomic

First recorded in 1670–80; atom + -ic

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."

Example Sentences

She’s played everyone from Mary Poppins to the volatile but brilliant wife of the atomic bomb’s inventor, earning an Oscar nod for Oppenheimer in 2024.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

Casias had been an administrative assistant at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where the first atomic bomb was developed and where nuclear weapon work continues, her family told local news outlets after her disappearance.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026

Before her disappearance, Casias, 53, worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where leading defensive nuclear research is conducted and where the world's first atomic weapons were developed during World War II.

From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026

Instead of relying on bulky lenses and hardware, researchers are exploring materials that can manipulate light at the atomic scale.

From Science Daily • Jun. 1, 2026

Again the wars were ‘inevitable’ and this time there were atomic weapons, so that mankind could no longer live through its torment to the inevitable wasting away of inevitability.—And positronic robots came.

From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov

Related Words

• microscopic