Showing results for "ion"

Jump To:

• ion
  ion

  noun

  an electrically charged atom or group of atoms formed by the loss or gain of one or more electrons, as a cation positive ion, which is created by electron loss and is attracted to the cathode in electrolysis, or as an anion negative ion, which is created by an electron gain and is attracted to the anode. The valence of an ion is equal to the number of electrons lost or gained and is indicated by a plus sign for cations and a minus sign for anions, thus: Na + , Cl−, Ca ++ , S = .
• Ion
  Ion

  noun

  the eponymous ancestor of the Ionians: a son of Apollo and Creusa who is abandoned by his mother but returns to become an attendant in Apollo's temple at Delphi.
• -ion
  -ion

  a suffix, appearing in words of Latin origin, denoting action or condition, used in Latin and in English to form nouns from stems of Latin adjectives (communion; union ), verbs (legion; opinion ), and especially past participles (allusion; creation; fusion; notion; torsion ).
• Ion.
  Ion.

  abbreviation

  Ionic.

SEE ALSO:

Slang dictionary results for ion.

ion

¹ American  

[ahy-uhn, ahy-on] / ˈaɪ ən, ˈaɪ ɒn /

noun

Physics, Chemistry.

ions plural

1. an electrically charged atom or group of atoms formed by the loss or gain of one or more electrons, as a cation positive ion, which is created by electron loss and is attracted to the cathode in electrolysis, or as an anion negative ion, which is created by an electron gain and is attracted to the anode. The valence of an ion is equal to the number of electrons lost or gained and is indicated by a plus sign for cations and a minus sign for anions, thus: Na + , Cl−, Ca ++ , S = .

2. one of the electrically charged particles formed in a gas by electric discharge or the like.

---

Ion ² American  

[ahy-on] / ˈaɪ ɒn /

noun

1. Classical Mythology. the eponymous ancestor of the Ionians: a son of Apollo and Creusa who is abandoned by his mother but returns to become an attendant in Apollo's temple at Delphi.

2. (italics) a drama on this subject (415? b.c.) by Euripides.

---

-ion ³ American  

1. a suffix, appearing in words of Latin origin, denoting action or condition, used in Latin and in English to form nouns from stems of Latin adjectives (communion; union ), verbs (legion; opinion ), and especially past participles (allusion; creation; fusion; notion; torsion ).

---

Ion. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. Ionic.

---

ion ¹ British  

/ ˈaɪən, -ɒn /

noun

1. an electrically charged atom or group of atoms formed by the loss or gain of one or more electrons See also cation anion

---

-ion ² British  

suffix

1. indicating an action, process, or state Compare -ation -tion

   creation

   objection

---

ion Scientific  

/ ī′ən,ī′ŏn′ /

1. An atom or a group of atoms that has an electric charge. Positive ions, or cations, are formed by the loss of electrons; negative ions, or anions, are formed by the gain of electrons.

---

ion Cultural  

1. An atom that has either lost or gained one or more electrons, so that it has an electrical charge. Ions can be either positively or negatively charged.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ion¹

< Greek ión going, neuter present participle of iénai to go; term introduced by Michael Faraday in 1834

Origin of -ion³

< Latin -iōn- (stem of -iō ) suffix forming nouns, especially on past participle stems; replacing Middle English -ioun < Anglo-French < Latin -iōn-

Explanation

An ion is an atom or particle with a positive or negative electrical charge. Think of an ion as having a plus or minus sign. Ion is a word you are most likely to encounter in a physics or chemistry text. But you don’t have to be a chemist or physicist to understand the concept. If you had a neutral particle and you were able to remove or add an electron, then you would have an ion — a charged particle. Don't confuse the tiny ion with the similar word eon, which is an extremely long period of time.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ion Ion Ion. ions

A spokesman for Centcom told the BBC that the crew members were rescued by an unmanned surface drone that was operated by Task Force 59, a Bahrain-based unit launched ion 2024.

From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026

"We have the technology to generate the required squeezing and a path to reach the clock precision needed in ion clocks to observe such effects for the first time," says Sanner of Colorado State.

From Science Daily ● May 18, 2026

Researchers at the University of Oxford have demonstrated a new kind of quantum interaction using a single trapped ion.

From Science Daily ● May 1, 2026

Using focused ion beams, the researchers engraved the QR code into a thin ceramic layer.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 29, 2026

So far the calutron’s production was minuscule and its reliability imperfect, but he was already planning to replace its 10-milliampere ion source with one offering yet another tenfold increase in power.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

The need for such high levels of reliability can stress the capabilities of AI architectures and humans alike, according to computer scientist and Databricks co-founder Ion Stoica.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

In the latest quarter, Intuitive recorded 17% worldwide procedure growth across both of its da Vinci and Ion systems.

From Barron's ● Apr. 21, 2026

"These magnons can transmit information through a magnet without the need for charge transport," explains project leader Dr. Helmut Schultheiß from the Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research at HZDR.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 27, 2026

Games will also air on Ion and USA Network.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026

The mother and son looked at each other, Ion with perfect joy.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

In the first place, the Portuguese, who discovered that island in 1506, and explored its coasts in the following years, could not have Ion. remained in ignorance of De Gonneville's voyage.

From The History of Australian Exploration from 1788 to 1888 by Favenc, Ernest

Once inside, those iron ions may fuel the intense oxidation that drives ferroptosis.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026

However, evidence suggests the particles, which were initially designed to carry imaging agents, can collect positively charged iron ions from the bloodstream and transport them into tumor cells.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026

Trapped ions, as the name suggests, are suspended in vacuums and manipulated by lasers.

From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026

As they process that seawater, excess calcium and carbonate ions are removed from the body and released as solid calcium carbonate pellets called ichthyocarbonates.

From Science Daily ● May 31, 2026

But, with luck, the addition of magnesium or possibly calcium ions to the sugar-phosphate backbone would quickly generate an elegant structure, the correctness of which would not be debatable.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson