radiocarbon

American  

[rey-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.

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radiocarbon British  

/ ˌreɪdɪəʊˈkɑːbən /

noun

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

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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.

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Etymology

Origin of radiocarbon

First recorded in 1935–40; radio- + carbon

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

radiocarbon

These naturally occurring minerals can produce dark pigments, but they do not contain the organic carbon needed for radiocarbon dating.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

The team used radiocarbon dating, which looks at how a special form of carbon changes over time, to work out that the structure was 5,000 years old.

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

Anthropologists Alessandro Riga and Luca Bachechi have recovered bone fragments from the site, some of which have been radiocarbon dated.

From Science Daily ● May 4, 2026

These included DNA analysis to study genetic relationships, radiocarbon dating to determine the age of the remains, and isotopic measurements to identify where the individuals likely lived before death.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 12, 2026

In addition, they came upon supposed hearths, whose burnt charcoal yielded radiocarbon dates of around 35,000 years ago.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond