carbide

[kahr-bahyd, -bid]

noun

a compound of carbon with a more electropositive element or group.

a very hard mixture of sintered carbides of various heavy metals, especially tungsten carbide, used for cutting edges and dies.

Nearby words

Origin of carbide

First recorded in 1860–65; carb- + -ide

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for carbide

Three causes work together to prevent this heat being dissipated through the walls of the carbide vessel with sufficient rapidity.
Acetylene, The Principles Of Its Generation And Use|F. H. Leeds
In a house in which there were twenty burners, the tanks were filled with water and carbide but once a fortnight.
General Science|Bertha M. Clark
He had put a veranda of boughs to the front of it, and had washed the roof and walls with carbide to lessen the heat in summer.
The Black Opal|Katharine Susannah Prichard
Nitrates of cerium have been described, as have also phosphates, carbonates and a carbide.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7|Various

The carbide must be completely decomposed in the apparatus so that no acetylene can be evolved from the residue.
Acetylene, The Principles Of Its Generation And Use|F. H. Leeds

British Dictionary definitions for carbide

carbide

noun

a binary compound of carbon with a more electropositive elementSee also acetylide

See calcium carbide

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for carbide

carbide

compound formed by combination of carbon and another element, 1848, from carb-, comb. form of carbon + chemical suffix -ide. The earlier word was carburet.

Science definitions for carbide

carbide

[kär′bīd′]

A chemical compound consisting of carbon and a more electropositive element, such as calcium or tungsten. Many carbides, especially those made of carbon and a metal, are very hard and are used to make cutting tools and abrasives.