Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A soft, steel-gray to black, hexagonally crystallized allotrope of carbon with a metallic luster and a greasy feel, used in lead pencils, lubricants, paints, and coatings, that is fabricated into a variety of forms such as molds, bricks, electrodes, crucibles, and rocket nozzles. Also called black lead, plumbago.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. One of the forms under which carbon occurs in nature (see carbon), also known as plumbago and black-lead. It has an iron-gray color and metallic luster, and occurs in foliated masses and embedded scales. It is soft and unctuous to the touch, makes a black shining streak on paper, and is used chiefly in the manufacture of pencils, crucibles, and portable furnaces, for burnishing iron to protect it from rust, and for counteracting friction between the rubbing surfaces of wood or metal in machinery. It is a conductor of electricity, and in the form of a powder is used for coating the non-conducting surfaces of molds in making electrotypes. The most important regions supplying graphite are the Alibert mine in Siberia, which furnishes the best material for lead-pencils, and Ceylon, whence comes a large part of the coarser material used for stove-polish and for lubrication. There are also extensive mines of graphite near Lake Champlain.
- n. Same as graffito. See the extract.
Wiktionary
- n. An allotrope of carbon consisting of planes of carbon atoms arranged in hexagonal arrays with the planes stacked loosely that is used as a dry lubricant and in "lead" pencils.
- n. Short for graphite-reinforced plastic, a composite plastic made with graphite fibers noted for light weight strength and stiffness.
- n. A grey colour.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Min.) Native carbon in hexagonal crystals, also foliated or granular massive, of black color and metallic luster, and so soft as to leave a trace on paper. It is used for pencils (improperly called
lead pencils ), for crucibles, and as a lubricator, etc. Often calledplumbago orblack lead .
WordNet 3.0
- n. used as a lubricant and as a moderator in nuclear reactors
Etymologies
- From German Graphit (A.G. Werner 1789), from Ancient Greek γράφω (graphō, "I write"). (Wiktionary)
- Greek graphein, to write; see gerbh- in Indo-European roots + -ite1. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Liquid graphite is black, slick and somewhat messy, and will require a good cleaning prior to using the rifle.”
“Less graphite is required in creating the rod blanks, which, according to Whiting, "have the performance of graphite and the durability of fiberglass.”
“One of the benefits of using graphite is that it keeps the silver from oxidizing, so bullets come out bright and shiny.”
“While there was always enough money to buy the latest in graphite and Gore-Tex, our wives shopped at discount stores and clad our little ones in hand-me-downs; our oldest kids relied on part-time jobs and student loans to stay in college.”
“The carbon balls are formed when graphite is evaporated in an inert atmosphere.”
“Some of the more interesting investigations were conducted on layered compounds, especially on radiation damage in graphite and alkalimetal graphites.”
“The update is designed for older AirPort Base Stations - the original "graphite" - colored model and its white successor, with dual Ethernet ports.”
“Some of his famous works include: The School of Athens (fresco) 1511-1512, Christ Supported by Two Angels (1490 – yes, when he was seven!), a self-portrait in graphite (unknown), Coronation of the Virgin (1502-03), and Saint George and the Dragon (unknown).”
“The problem was that graphite is light, and strong, and very slippery, and none of the scope’s little innards would stay anchored, and so it came unglued with the first shot.”
“CHARLES: They put Scotch tape down on a block of graphite, which is pure carbon.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘graphite’.
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SCIE - EU nomenclature
All the scientific words found in the official EU nomenclature. For the screening I used Vocabgrabber of the Visual Thesaurus.
abdominal, absorbent, accelerator, accumulator, acebutolol, acetamide, acetanilide, acetate, acetic acid, acetone, acetous, acetyl and 1171 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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IMCO - EU nomenclature
includes words of the "Prodcom list"
veal, valve, used, yak, wax, wan, teak, vat, vas, strip, use, strap and 4515 more...
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TECH - metals and alloys
toughness, furnace, vibration, bronze, modulus, tubing, flow, zinc, melting, porta, embrittle, wetting and 262 more...
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intueri's Words
inveigle, dolorous, archly, feckless, resplendent, concatenation, peripatetic, delightful, cookie, fey, ephemeral, effervescent and 347 more...
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Color Words for Shoes
Vendors can get oddly creative.
amaranth, brindle, iguana, slate black, madder brown, bison, pinecone, seal brown, forest night, burnt orange, monument, beet red and 399 more...
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maygra
apropos, advantageous, perception, discombobulated, adumbrate, apogee, perihelion, mortmain, solitudinous, mediastinus, asumbrative, traveler and 498 more...
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Colors
Words for colors, including things so associated with a color that they can be used in reference to a color.
red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, purple, navy, lavender, turquoise, chartreuse and 218 more...
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Buttery
Words that make me feel cozy
Noodle, Nugget, Butter, Soft, Snug, Feather, Socks, Knit, Mug, Curl, Billow, Lounge and 315 more...
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eggplantia5's Words
scintillate, marvel, cranberry, oscillate, triumph, bamboozle, grimace, magical, book, hexagon, cipher, compendium and 2727 more...
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Words I'd Like to Use Someday
thundersnow, phantasmagoria, mercurial, chimerical, taciturn, paraclete, lapis lazuli, flay, guttersnipe, wonky, misanthrope, kestrel and 583 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, G
grocer, gabanergic, gabardine, gabbro, gaffe, gneiss, grapple, grosgrain, grommet, gratify, gossamer, goofy and 194 more...
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wreckingball's Words
reprehensible, problematize, crepuscular, deleterious, pestilent, strumpet, draggletail, interrobang, meretricious, systematize, schadenfreude, capricious and 443 more...
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cutting words
sarcasm, sarx, sarcoptic, syssarcosis, shrew, shrewd, screed, scred, shroud, scroll, scrod, scrutiny and 326 more...
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deegee's Words
pay-per-view, vitriol, delectable, snarky, unflinching, forsake, pervasive, inconsequential, unnerving, allure, endearing, unalloyed and 414 more...
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Chromonyms
These chromonyms are defined as colors in at least one dictionary (mostly MW3). (Actually there's one fake, for reasons I'll explain someday.) They are all one-word nouns such as "kelly", which can...
absinthe, acacia, acorn, alabaster, alesan, almond, aloma, amaranth, amber, amethyst, anemone, anil and 821 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for graphite.
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