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• ion
  ion

  noun

  an electrically charged atom or group of atoms formed by the loss or gain of one or more electrons, as a cation positive ion, which is created by electron loss and is attracted to the cathode in electrolysis, or as an anion negative ion, which is created by an electron gain and is attracted to the anode. The valence of an ion is equal to the number of electrons lost or gained and is indicated by a plus sign for cations and a minus sign for anions, thus: Na + , Cl−, Ca ++ , S = .
• Ion
  Ion

  noun

  the eponymous ancestor of the Ionians: a son of Apollo and Creusa who is abandoned by his mother but returns to become an attendant in Apollo's temple at Delphi.
• -ion
  -ion

  a suffix, appearing in words of Latin origin, denoting action or condition, used in Latin and in English to form nouns from stems of Latin adjectives (communion; union ), verbs (legion; opinion ), and especially past participles (allusion; creation; fusion; notion; torsion ).
• Ion.
  Ion.

  abbreviation

  Ionic.

SEE ALSO:

Slang dictionary results for ion.

ion

¹ American  

[ahy-uhn, ahy-on] / ˈaɪ ən, ˈaɪ ɒn /

noun

Physics, Chemistry.

• ions
  plural

1. an electrically charged atom or group of atoms formed by the loss or gain of one or more electrons, as a cation positive ion, which is created by electron loss and is attracted to the cathode in electrolysis, or as an anion negative ion, which is created by an electron gain and is attracted to the anode. The valence of an ion is equal to the number of electrons lost or gained and is indicated by a plus sign for cations and a minus sign for anions, thus: Na + , Cl−, Ca ++ , S = .

2. one of the electrically charged particles formed in a gas by electric discharge or the like.

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Ion ² American  

[ahy-on] / ˈaɪ ɒn /

noun

1. Classical Mythology. the eponymous ancestor of the Ionians: a son of Apollo and Creusa who is abandoned by his mother but returns to become an attendant in Apollo's temple at Delphi.

2. (italics) a drama on this subject (415? b.c.) by Euripides.

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-ion ³ American  

1. a suffix, appearing in words of Latin origin, denoting action or condition, used in Latin and in English to form nouns from stems of Latin adjectives (communion; union ), verbs (legion; opinion ), and especially past participles (allusion; creation; fusion; notion; torsion ).

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Ion. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. Ionic.

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ion ¹ British  

/ ˈaɪən, -ɒn /

noun

1. an electrically charged atom or group of atoms formed by the loss or gain of one or more electrons See also cation anion

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-ion ² British  

suffix

1. indicating an action, process, or state Compare -ation -tion

   creation

   objection

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ion Scientific  

/ ī′ən,ī′ŏn′ /

1. An atom or a group of atoms that has an electric charge. Positive ions, or cations, are formed by the loss of electrons; negative ions, or anions, are formed by the gain of electrons.

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ion Cultural  

1. An atom that has either lost or gained one or more electrons, so that it has an electrical charge. Ions can be either positively or negatively charged.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ion¹

< Greek ión going, neuter present participle of iénai to go; term introduced by Michael Faraday in 1834

Origin of -ion³

< Latin -iōn- (stem of -iō ) suffix forming nouns, especially on past participle stems; replacing Middle English -ioun < Anglo-French < Latin -iōn-

Explanation

An ion is an atom or particle with a positive or negative electrical charge. Think of an ion as having a plus or minus sign. Ion is a word you are most likely to encounter in a physics or chemistry text. But you don’t have to be a chemist or physicist to understand the concept. If you had a neutral particle and you were able to remove or add an electron, then you would have an ion — a charged particle. Don't confuse the tiny ion with the similar word eon, which is an extremely long period of time.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ion Ion Ion. ions

The new Science Advances study builds on that work and identifies Kelvin-Helmholtz waves as an important mechanism behind atmospheric ion loss.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026

Sodium ion batteries could offer a more sustainable way to store large amounts of energy, and new research suggests they may eventually serve another valuable purpose: helping remove salt from seawater.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026

"By making cosmic dust in the lab, we can explore the intensity of ion impacts and temperatures involved when dust forms in space," Professor McKenzie said.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026

A trapped ion combines two distinct quantum systems in one platform.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 15, 2026

I don't know, but I'm ion sad and tired to ask.

From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

In the latest quarter, Intuitive recorded 17% worldwide procedure growth across both of its da Vinci and Ion systems.

From Barron's ● Apr. 21, 2026

Games will also air on Ion and USA Network.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026

Ion channels are tiny openings that control the movement of charged particles in living organisms.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 19, 2026

Raducanu's father, Ion, is from Bucharest and an exhausted but thrilled Raducanu briefly addressed the crowd in Romanian after her victory.

From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2026

The holy woman told Xuthus that the priest wished to speak to him, and when he was gone she held out to Ion what she was carrying.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

In the first place, the Portuguese, who discovered that island in 1506, and explored its coasts in the following years, could not have Ion. remained in ignorance of De Gonneville's voyage.

From The History of Australian Exploration from 1788 to 1888 by Favenc, Ernest

It involves inserting electrodes made of materials such as zinc and copper into substances that contain moisture or ions, and then collecting the small but steady electrical currents.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

Salt water can trigger unwanted chemical reactions and interfere with the movement of ions, making it difficult for many materials to function properly.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026

Molecules are repeatedly struck by ions and electrons, triggering chemical reactions that can create increasingly complex materials.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026

Like other predatory bristle worms, this species has jaws built from structural proteins and ions.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 16, 2026

His measurements indicated that he had accelerated ions to 80,000 volts by spiraling them around the vacuum chamber forty-one times, thereby delivering eighty-two resonant jolts.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik