microchip

American  

[mahy-kroh-chip] / ˈmaɪ kroʊˌtʃɪp /

noun

Electronics.

• microchips
  plural

1. chip.

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microchip British  

/ ˈmaɪkrəʊˌtʃɪp /

noun

1. a small piece of semiconductor material carrying many integrated circuits

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verb

1. (tr) to implant (an animal) with a microchip tag linked to a national computer network for purposes of identification

microchip Scientific  

/ mī′krə-chĭp′ /

1. See integrated circuit

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microchip Cultural  

1. The basic component of modern miniaturized electronics. The “chip” is a series of electrical circuits built into a tiny wafer of silicon or another semiconductor.

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Discover More

These circuits may be made by exposing the chip to a high-temperature vapor of controlled composition. The vapor deposits a thin layer (sometimes only a few atoms thick) on the silicon. In this way complex layers of materials, such as those found in transistors can be built up in a very small area.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• microchips
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of microchip

First recorded in 1965–70; micro- + chip ¹

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Explanation

A microchip is a tiny piece of material that contains electronic circuits allowing it to store a lot of information. Many dogs have microchips so their owners can easily find them if they get lost. Microchips are made by etching an electronic circuit into a bit of silicon the size of a grain of rice. This tiny device can hold computer memory and processors, or be used to conduct electricity. You almost certainly use things that contain microchips just about every day, including calculators, bank ATMs, certain ID cards, cell phones, and televisions. The word microchip was coined in the 1970s from micro-, "small," and the electronics term chip.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

microchip microchips

The comments made by Broadcom’s CEO at a conference in Singapore have been cited as a reason for microchip stocks’ slumps on both Monday and Tuesday.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

Louise Haigh, Burnham's deputy, has vowed to "strip out needless bureaucracy" from government more generally, citing an example of there being three public consultations between 2019 and 2023 on whether to microchip cats.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

In the future, thousands of these lasers could potentially be integrated onto a single microchip.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026

BRUSSELS—Belgium’s revelation that it had arrested a Chinese citizen on suspicion of stealing advanced microchip technology is fueling European anxiety about Beijing’s trade practices and quest for industrial secrets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

"Before the nefarious Dr. Loofah puts the microchip in his back!" barks Scruffy.

From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein

In electronics, the technology could help engineers direct heat away from sensitive components, improve thermal management in microchips, and protect devices operating under demanding conditions.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026

However, prosecutors say, Lui used freight-forwarding companies to ship the high-end servers containing the microchips from Malaysia and Singapore on to China.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

Within tech, Wells Fargo said it prefers software to microchips.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

Tin is an element vital to the artificial intelligence industry, used as solder to attach microchips to circuit boards and bond together other electronics in data centres.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

He imagined sitting in a booth, getting injected with microchips.

From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly

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Related Words

• chip
• circuitry
• microprocessor
• silicon chip

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