graphite

[ graf-ahyt ]

noun

1. a very common mineral, soft native carbon, occurring in black to dark-gray foliated masses, with metallic luster and greasy feel: used for pencil leads, as a lubricant, and for making crucibles and other refractories; plumbago; black lead.

graphite

/ ˈɡræfaɪt; ɡrəˈfɪtɪk /

noun

1. a blackish soft allotropic form of carbon in hexagonal crystalline form: used in pencils, crucibles, and electrodes, as a lubricant, as a moderator in nuclear reactors, and, in a carbon fibre form, as a tough lightweight material for sporting equipment Also calledplumbago

graphite

/ grăf′īt′ /

1. A naturally occurring, steel-gray to black, crystalline form of carbon. The carbon atoms in graphite are strongly bonded together in sheets. Because the bonds between the sheets are weak, other atoms can easily fit between them, causing graphite to be soft and slippery to the touch. Graphite is used in pencils and paints and as a lubricant and electrode. It is also used to control chain reactions in nuclear reactors because of its ability to absorb neutrons.

Derived Forms

• graphitic, adjective

Other Words From

• gra·phit·ic [gr, uh, -, fit, -ik], adjective
• nongra·phitic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of graphite¹

1790–1800; < German Graphit < Greek gráph ( ein ) to write, draw + German -it -ite ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of graphite¹

C18: from German Graphit; from Greek graphein to write + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

Today’s battery technology — necessary for electric vehicles and energy storage — relies on minerals including cobalt, magnesium, nickel and graphite.

From Los Angeles Times

Lithium metal anodes can store more energy in a smaller space and, unlike graphite or silicon, can directly participate in electrochemical reactions as electrodes.

From Science Daily

These perovskites comprise molecularly thin layers held together by forces that hold graphite layers together, the so-called van der Waals forces -- hence the "v" in CL-v.

From Science Daily

A dozen acrylic and graphite drawings of birds by Sutapa Biswas, accompanied by her video “Magnesium Bird,” make for a piquant counterweight.

From New York Times

There was plenty to worry Burt during testing of the light graphite plane, Voyager.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• soot