Silicon Valley

American  

noun

1. the area in northern California, southwest of San Francisco in the Santa Clara valley region, where many of the high-technology design and manufacturing companies in the semiconductor industry are concentrated.

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Silicon Valley British  

noun

1. an industrial strip in W California, extending S of San Francisco, in which the US information technology industry is concentrated

2. any area in which industries associated with information technology are concentrated

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Silicon Valley Cultural  

1. A region on the San Francisco Peninsula in California where the miniaturized electronics industry is centered, so called because most of the devices built there are made of semiconductors such as silicon.

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The term is often used as a catchword to describe the development of high-tech industry (see also high-tech): “If we can attract this corporation to our town, we could become another Silicon Valley.”

Etymology

Origin of Silicon Valley

So called from the silicon wafers employed in semiconductor devices

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Silicon Valley

Gerstner moved out to Silicon Valley a few years later and launched the firm’s first venture fund in 2013.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

To be sure, the sudden burst of demand for luxury homes has not been exclusive to Silicon Valley.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

Top Silicon Valley executive Fidji Simo announced Wednesday she is leaving her full-time role at OpenAI to go part-time as an advisor and focus on recovery from a chronic illness.

From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026

In March, San Francisco regained its title as the most expensive city for homebuyers in the US, overtaking rival San Jose 50 miles to the south in the heart of traditional Silicon Valley.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

Vivek Paul is the president of Wipro Technologies, another of the elite Indian technology companies, but he is based in Silicon Valley to be close to Wipro’s American customers.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman