graphite

American  

[graf-ahyt] / ˈgræf aɪt /

noun

1. a very common mineral, soft native carbon, occurring in black to dark-gray foliated masses, with metallic luster and greasy feel: used for pencil leads, as a lubricant, and for making crucibles and other refractories; plumbago; black lead.

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graphite British  

/ ˈɡræfaɪt, ɡrəˈfɪtɪk /

noun

1. Also called: plumbago.  a blackish soft allotropic form of carbon in hexagonal crystalline form: used in pencils, crucibles, and electrodes, as a lubricant, as a moderator in nuclear reactors, and, in a carbon fibre form, as a tough lightweight material for sporting equipment

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graphite Scientific  

/ grăf′īt′ /

1. A naturally occurring, steel-gray to black, crystalline form of carbon. The carbon atoms in graphite are strongly bonded together in sheets. Because the bonds between the sheets are weak, other atoms can easily fit between them, causing graphite to be soft and slippery to the touch. Graphite is used in pencils and paints and as a lubricant and electrode. It is also used to control chain reactions in nuclear reactors because of its ability to absorb neutrons.

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Other Word Forms

• graphitic adjective
• nongraphitic adjective

Etymology

Origin of graphite

1790–1800; < German Graphit < Greek gráph ( ein ) to write, draw + German -it -ite ¹

Example Sentences

Your pencil—mechanical, size .7 mm graphite only—glides across the paper.

From Literature

Now I’m sitting at the kitchen table with my sketchbook, a mallard’s feather, and a selection of my graphite pencils, letting what Dr. Crowchild said percolate.

From Literature

It features 26 paintings, oil sketches and drawings, these last done in Conté crayon, a medium made from powdered graphite and carbon black that allowed deeper blacks and more expressive tonal contrasts.

From The Wall Street Journal

The group’s goal is to help the U.S. and allied nations secure sources and supply chains for critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, manganese, uranium and copper.

From The Wall Street Journal

My own face in graphite, sketched on the back of this envelope, half in profile as if the artist has just called my name.

From Literature

Related Words

• soot