rayon

[ rey-on ]

noun

1. a regenerated, semisynthetic textile filament made from cellulose, cotton linters, or wood chips by treating these with caustic soda and carbon disulfide and passing the resultant solution, viscose, through spinnerets.
2. fabric made of this filament.

adjective

1. made of rayon.

rayon

/ ˈreɪɒn /

noun

1. any of a number of textile fibres made from wood pulp or other forms of cellulose
2. any fabric made from such a fibre
3. modifier consisting of or involving rayon

   a rayon shirt

Other Words From

• half-rayon adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rayon¹

First recorded in 1920–25; apparently based on ray ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of rayon¹

C20: from French, from Old French rai ray ¹

Example Sentences

Rayon, viscose, all the leaps and bounds made in synthetics — don’t you believe in science?

From Los Angeles Times

Research conducted by Dr Shota Nakanoh in a collaboration between Dr Teresa Rayon's lab at the Institute and Professor Ludovic Vallier's lab at the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute has determined that the degree of cell crowding in the early human embryo influences whether cells develop as extra-embryonic cells or become a part of the embryo and eventually give rise to skin, hair and nails.

From Science Daily

It also had splashes of color: a gentle yellow, a rusty orange, a light brown and a mossy green, in the form of rayon fabrics made by Dupont covering the walls.

From New York Times

Underwear became a fashion item in the 1950s and 1960s as they went from traditional white to an array of colors and patterns and the development of fabrics like rayon and Dacron made new styles possible for men and women.

From National Geographic

The defense attempted to explain the signs of apparent strangulation on the victim’s body: As Susann Sills lay at the bottom of the stairs, one or both of the family’s dogs, somehow loosed from their overnight kennels, had tugged at a rayon scarf around her neck.

From Los Angeles Times