CARBON

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does carbon mean? 

• CARBON (noun)
  The noun CARBON has 3 senses:

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

2. 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

3. a copy made with carbon paper

  Familiarity information: CARBON used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CARBON (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

atomic number 6; C; carbon

Hypernyms ("carbon" is a kind 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)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "carbon"):

fullerene (a form of carbon having a large molecule consisting of an empty cage of sixty or more carbon atoms)

carbon 14; radiocarbon (a radioactive isotope of carbon)

char (a charred substance)

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)

adamant; diamond (very hard native crystalline carbon valued as a gem)

Holonyms ("carbon" is a substance of...):

coal (fossil fuel consisting of carbonized vegetable matter deposited in the Carboniferous period)

limestone (a sedimentary rock consisting mainly of calcium that was deposited by the remains of marine animals)

crude; crude oil; fossil oil; oil; petroleum; rock oil (a dark oil consisting mainly of hydrocarbons)

Derivation:

carbonate (turn into a carbonate)

carbonic (relating to or consisting of or yielding carbon)

carbonise (turn into carbon, as by burning)

carbonise (unite with carbon)

carbonize (turn into carbon, as by burning)

carbonize; carburise; carburize (unite with carbon)

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

carbon; carbon paper

Hypernyms ("carbon" is a kind of...):

paper (a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A copy made with carbon paper

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

carbon; carbon copy

Hypernyms ("carbon" is a kind of...):

copy (a thing made to be similar or identical to another thing)

 Context examples 

They are often but not necessarily, composed of carbon, and having remarkable strength and electrical properties.

(Nanotube, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Alcohol contains a carbon atom attached to a hydroxyl group (a molecule made of an oxygen atom and a hydrogen atom).

(Alcohol, NCI Dictionary)

An explosive device comprised of carbon nanotubes.

(Nanobomb, NCI Thesaurus)

D- glucopyranose is oxidized in various tissues under either aerobic or anaerobic conditions through glycolysis; the oxidation reaction produces carbon dioxide, water, and ATP.

(Alpha-D-Glucopyranose Monohydrate, NCI Thesaurus)

The alveoli are where the lungs and the bloodstream exchange carbon dioxide and oxygen.

(Alveoli, NCI Dictionary)

A small molecule made of two carbon, three hydrogen, and one oxygen atoms.

(Acetyl group, NCI Dictionary)

The anticonvulsant activity of acetazolamide may contribute to inhibition of carbonic anhydrase in the CNS, which decreases carbon dioxide tension in the pulmonary alveoli, thus increasing arterial oxygen tension.

(Acetazolamide Sodium, NCI Thesaurus)

This species is nonmotile, catalase and urease positive, reduces nitrate, does not produce phosphate and utilizes glucose and fructose as its only carbon source.

(Nocardia nova, NCI Thesaurus)

When a harvester yarn is twisted or stretched, the volume of the carbon nanotube yarn decreases, bringing the electric charges on the yarn closer together and increasing their energy, Haines said.

(Energy-Harvesting Yarns Generate Electricity, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Potentially cancer-causing compound containing carbon and hydrogen in the form of an unsaturated, usually hexagonal, ring structure with one or more nitro-group(s), -NO2, attached to one or more aromatic ring(s).

(Nitroarene Carcinogen, NCI Thesaurus)