radiocarbon

American  

[ray-dee-oh-kahr-buhn] / ˌreɪ di oʊˈkɑr bən /

noun

Chemistry.

1. Also called carbon 14. a radioactive isotope of carbon with mass number 14 and a half-life of about 5730 years: widely used in the dating of organic materials.

2. any radioactive isotope of carbon.

---

radiocarbon British  

/ ˌreɪdɪəʊˈkɑːbən /

noun

1. a radioactive isotope of carbon, esp carbon-14 See carbon

---

radiocarbon Scientific  

/ rā′dē-ō-kär′bən /

1. A radioactive isotope of carbon, especially carbon 14. Other radiocarbons include carbon 10, carbon 11, carbon 15, and carbon 16.

---

Etymology

Origin of radiocarbon

First recorded in 1935–40; radio- + carbon

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

radiocarbon

Scientists have previously reconstructed ancient solar cycles by studying radiocarbon preserved in tree rings.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026

By measuring changes in radiocarbon concentrations across successive tree rings, scientists can reconstruct how solar activity varied long before modern instruments existed.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026

The fact that none of the ship's wood remained meant techniques like radiocarbon dating - which measures a form of carbon in organic materials - could not be used to determine its age.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

Archaeological remains are often dated using radiocarbon techniques that can produce time windows spanning many decades or even more than a century.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

In an attempt to reduce confusion, all dates in this book are ordinary calendar dates—that is, radiocarbon dates corrected by the most recent calibration.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---