atom
Syllables: at·om/ˈætəm/[ˈæɾm̩]
atom noun: the smallest possible amount of matter which still retains its identity as a chemical element, now known to consist of a nucleus surrounded by electrons.
Noun
atom (plural atoms)
- The smallest possible amount of matter which still retains its identity as a chemical element, now known to consist of a nucleus surrounded by electrons.
- Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis: the ability to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and waste oxygen using solar energy. The evolutionary precursor of photosynthesis is still under debate, and a new study sheds...2013 September–October, Katie L. Burke, “In the news: Photosynthesis precursor”, in American Scientist, archived from the original on 13 Apr 2016
- A hypothetical particle posited by Greek philosophers as an ultimate and indivisible component of matter.
- The smallest, indivisible constituent part or unit of something.
- Towards the following morning, the thermometer fell to 5°; and at daylight, there was not an atom of water to be seen in any direction.1835, John Ross, James Clark Ross, “Chapter XXXIV. Labour in Cutting through the Ice—Become Fixed for the Winter—Summary of the Month.”, in Narrative of a Second Voyage in Search of a North-west...
- But at this critical moment the pirate astern sent a mischievous shot and knocked one of the men to atoms at the helm.1863, Charles Reade, Hard Cash
- In logical atomism, a fundamental fact that cannot be further broken down.
- The smallest medieval unit of time, equal to fifteen ninety-fourths of a second.
- A mote of dust in a sunbeam.
- A very small amount; a whit.
- "Doctor, tell me one word more," said Theodore, quivering with suppressed emotion. "How do you think it will end?" / "I have hardly the faintest atom of hope," answered this honest, earnest man.1873, “Pansy” [pseudonym; Isabella Macdonald Alden], “A Double Crisis”, in Three People, Cincinnati, Oh.: Western Tract and Book Society, 176 Elm Street, →OCLC, page 325
- We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies, and those of us who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength; and the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty.1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter I, in Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962...
- An individual number or symbol, as opposed to a list; a scalar value.
- An integer representing a particular string.
- A non-zero member of a partially ordered set that has only zero below it (assuming that the poset has a least element, its "zero").
- In a Venn diagram, an atom is depicted as an area circumscribed by lines but not cut by any line.
- Antonyms:
- coatom
- An element of a set that is not itself a set; an urelement.
- An age group division in hockey for nine- to eleven-year-olds.
Proper noun capitalized: Atom
Atom
atom meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
atom in Hindi
- historical: theoretical particle of matter
- परमाणु parmāṇu
- chemistry, physics: smallest possible amount of matter retaining its chemical properties
- परमाणु parmāṇu, अणु aṇu, एटम eṭam
- obsolete: small unit of time
- पल pal, क्षण kṣaṇ
atom in Tamil
- chemistry, physics: smallest possible amount of matter retaining its chemical properties
- அணு aṇu
atom in Marathi
- historical: theoretical particle of matter
- अणू aṇū
- chemistry, physics: smallest possible amount of matter retaining its chemical properties
- अणू aṇū
- smallest indivisible constituent
- लघुत्तम अविभाज्य घटक laghuttam avibhājya ghaṭak
- obsolete: small unit of time
- क्षण kṣaṇ
atom in Urdu
- chemistry, physics: smallest possible amount of matter retaining its chemical properties
- اَیٹَم aiṭam
More languagesFewer languages
- atom in Bengali
- পরমাণু pormanu, অণু onu
- atom in Telugu
- అణువు aṇuvu
- atom in Malayalam
- അണു aṇu
- atom in Kannada
- ಪರಮಾಣು paramāṇu
- atom in Punjabi
- ਪਰਮਾਣੂ parmāṇū
- atom in Gujarati
- પરમાણુ parmāṇu
- atom in Odia
- ଅଣୁ aṇu, ପୁରୁଷ puruṣa
- atom in Sanskrit
- परमाणु paramāṇu, अणु aṇu, क्षण kṣaṇa
- atom in Sinhala
- පරමාණු paramāṇu
- atom in Assamese
- পৰমাণু pormanu, অণু onu
- atom in Nepali
- अणु aṇu
- atom in Pashto
- اټوم aṭóm
- atom in Tagalog
- atomo
- atom in Arabic
- ذَرَّة ḏarra
- atom in Malay
- atom
- atom in Indonesian
- atom
- atom in Thai
- ปรมาณู bpà-rá-maa-nuu, อะตอม à-dtɔm
- atom in Vietnamese
- nguyên tử
- atom in Myanmar
- အက်တမ် aktam, အဏုမြူ a.nu.mru
Examples of atom in a sentence
- The physical chemist lased the atoms as they passed between the electrodes to study their motion.
- A water molecule is made up of two hydrogen atoms plus one of oxygen.
- Hydrogen chloride is a diatomic molecule, consisting of a hydrogen atom and a chlorine atom.
Synonyms of atom
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of atom
| plural | atoms |
|---|
Origin of atom
From Middle English attome, from Middle French athome, from Latin atomus (“smallest particle”), from Ancient Greek ἄτομος (átomos, “indivisible”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + τέμνω (témnō, “to cut”, o-grade in τομ-) + -ος (-os). Atoms are so named because they were historically thought up as to be the smallest unit of matter, and thus indivisible. Doublet of atomus.
Borrowed from Manipuri ꯑꯇꯣꯝ (ʼatom).
Words formed from atom
- adatom
- atom bomb
- atom cocktail
- atomechanics
- atomerg
- atom feed
- atomic
- atomical
- atomically
- atomism
- atomist
- atomistic
- atomization
- atomize
- atom laser
- atomless
- atomlike
- atomology
- atomophobia
- atomphobia
- atom physics
- atompunk
- atomsite
- atom smasher
- atomtronics
- atomweight
- Bohr atom
- Boolean atom
- catom
- diatom
- exotic atom
- Gabor atom
- gram atom
- hadronic atom
- Hooke's atom
- interatom
- metaatom
- multiatom
- pseudoatom
- Rutherford atom
- Rydberg atom
- social atom
- spiroatom
- subatom
- superatom
- tatum
- vortex atom
Phrases with atom
Words that rhyme with atom
Questions about atom
- What does atom mean?
- Atom means the smallest possible amount of matter which still retains its identity as a chemical element, now known to consist of a nucleus surrounded by electrons.
- What is atom in Hindi?
- Atom in Hindi is परमाणु (parmāṇu), अणु (aṇu), एटम (eṭam). See Atom meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is atom?
- Atom can be a noun or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce atom?
- Atom is pronounced /ˈætəm/.
- What is the plural of atom?
- The plural of atom is atoms.
Words near atom in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: atom (page history and authors); Atom (page history and authors); ਪਰਮਾਣੂ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); ଅଣୁ (Odia) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-atom.ogg, en-au-atom.ogg.
Cite this entry: “atom.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/atom. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.