ceramic

[suh-ram-ik]

adjective

1. of or relating to products made from clay and similar materials, as pottery and brick, or to their manufacture.

   ceramic art.

noun

1. ceramic material.

ceramic

/ sɪˈræmɪk /

noun

1. a hard brittle material made by firing clay and similar substances

2. an object made from such a material

adjective

1. of, relating to, or made from a ceramic

   this vase is ceramic

2. of or relating to ceramics

   ceramic arts and crafts

ceramic

1. Any of various hard, brittle, heat- and corrosion-resistant materials made typically of metallic elements combined with oxygen or with carbon, nitrogen, or sulfur. Most ceramics are crystalline and are poor conductors of electricity, though some recently discovered copper-oxide ceramics are superconductors at low temperatures.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ceramic¹

1840–50; variant of keramic < Greek keramikós, equivalent to kéram ( os ) potters' clay + -ikos -ic

Word History and Origins

Origin of ceramic¹

C19: from Greek keramikos, from keramos potter's clay, pottery

Example Sentences

The living room’s fireplace is gone, but the wooden mantle remains atop a console behind the sofa, graced with a series of colorful ceramic planters by Ashley Campbell and Brian Porray of Happy Hour Ceramics.

From Los Angeles Times

He’d baked it with almond milk, lemon zest and those same backyard blackberries, set in a baby-blue ceramic pie plate that looked like it had been borrowed from a grandmother’s kitchen.

From Salon

At first, ceramics was just an escape from the monotonous copywriting work Stringer dreaded.

From Los Angeles Times

Among items retrieved and lifted with air bags were the ship's lookout bell, a portside navigation lamp, binoculars, ceramic tiles from Turkish baths, and equipment from first- and second-class cabins.

From BBC

The vessel is, unsurprisingly, a funerary jar — and a knockout of ceramic art.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• brick 
• earthenware 
• porcelain 
• stoneware 
• tile