carbon - Definition | Dictionary definition of carbon

Definition of carbon

Nouns

an abundant nonmetallic tetravalent element occurring in three allotropic forms: amorphous carbon and graphite and diamond; occurs in all organic compounds

Synonyms:: C, atomic number 6

Types:: show 15 types...; hide 15 types...; fullerene
a form of carbon having a large molecule consisting of an empty cage of sixty or more carbon atoms; buckminsterfullerene, buckyball
a spheroidal fullerene; the first known example of a fullerene; carbon nanotube, nanotube
a fullerene molecule having a cylindrical or toroidal shape; carbon 14, radiocarbon
a radioactive isotope of carbon; char
a charred substance; animal black, animal charcoal, bone black, bone char
black substance containing char in the form of carbonized bone; used as a black pigment; snuff
the charred portion of a candlewick; charcoal, wood coal
a carbonaceous material obtained by heating wood or other organic matter in the absence of air; carbon black, crock, lampblack, smut, soot
a black colloidal substance consisting wholly or principally of amorphous carbon and used to make pigments and ink; activated carbon, activated charcoal
powdered or granular carbon used for purifying by adsorption; given orally (as a slurry) it is an antidote for some kinds of poisons; black lead, graphite, plumbago
used as a lubricant and as a moderator in nuclear reactors; lead, pencil lead
mixture of graphite with clay in different degrees of hardness; the marking substance in a pencil; pencil
graphite (or a similar substance) used in such a way as to be a medium of communication; adamant, diamond
very hard native crystalline carbon valued as a gem; black diamond, carbonado
an inferior dark diamond used in industry for drilling and polishing

Type of:: chemical element, element
any of the more than 100 known substances (of which 92 occur naturally) that cannot be separated into simpler substances and that singly or in combination constitute all matter

a thin paper coated on one side with a dark waxy substance (often containing carbon); used to transfer characters from the original to an under sheet of paper