Silicon Valley

noun

1. the area in northern California, southwest of San Francisco in the Santa Clara valley region, where many of the high-technology design and manufacturing companies in the semiconductor industry are concentrated.

Silicon Valley

noun

1. an industrial strip in W California, extending S of San Francisco, in which the US information technology industry is concentrated
2. any area in which industries associated with information technology are concentrated

Silicon Valley

1. A region on the San Francisco Peninsula in California where the miniaturized electronics industry is centered, so called because most of the devices built there are made of semiconductors such as silicon .

Notes

The term is often used as a catchword to describe the development of high-tech industry (see also high-tech ): “If we can attract this corporation to our town, we could become another Silicon Valley.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of Silicon Valley¹

So called from the silicon wafers employed in semiconductor devices

Example Sentences

Local California agencies that have agreed to help fund the project include urban suppliers such as the Santa Clara Valley Water District, or Valley Water, which serves San Jose and other Silicon Valley cities; San Benito County Water District; and the city of Tracy.

From Los Angeles Times

His proximity to the Harris campaign—he even spoke at the DNC for some reason—had D.C. progressives worried, as news reports continued to trickle out about West’s moves to ally the Harris agenda with Wall Street and Silicon Valley and disavow the populism of Joe Biden.

From Slate

The cowards of Silicon Valley have spoken.

From Slate

Despite their ostensibly liberal political beliefs, Silicon Valley’s leaders know intimately that Donald Trump is a vindictive leader who can ruin their lives and businesses at a moment’s notice.

From Slate

Of the Silicon Valley crew of white-guy executives, seemingly only LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman—who donated $7 million to a Democratic-aligned super PAC this cycle—issued a thoughtful statement rebuking Trump:

From Slate