carbon

noun

Simple meaning

A fossil fuel that is made of impure carbon such as coal or charcoal.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

kahrbuhn

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈkɑɹbən

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

uncountable
The chemical element (symbol C) with an atomic number of 6. It can be found in pure form for example as graphite, a black, shiny and very soft material, or diamond, a colourless, transparent, crystalline solid and the hardest known material.
countable
An atom of this element, in reference to a molecule containing it.
A fossil fuel that is made of impure carbon such as coal or charcoal.
A plate or piece of carbon used as one of the elements of a voltaic battery.
A number of places in the United States
A minor city and coal town in Douglas Township, Adams County, Iowa.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency: Common
Typical Use: Varies by meaning

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A fossil fuel that is made of impure carbon such as coal or charcoal.

Used this way, carbon is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: Matter-of-fact
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Fossil / copy

carbon copy

Chemical / abundant

organic carbon

Atom

carbon dioxidecarbon monoxidecarbon tetrachloride

Other combinations

carbon atomcarbon steelcarbon cycle

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

carbon disulfidenounCompound term
A toxic colorless flammable liquid (CS2).
carbon monoxidenounCompound term
An odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon.
carbon monoxide gasnounCompound term
An odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon.
carbon monoxide poisoningnounCompound term
A toxic condition that results from inhaling and absorbing carbon monoxide gas.
carbon nanotubenounCompound term
A fullerene molecule having a cylindrical or toroidal shape.
carbon papernounCompound term
A thin paper coated on one side with a dark waxy substance (often containing carbon).

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

carbonylnounRelated term
A compound containing metal combined with carbon monoxide.
carbonated waternounRelated term
Effervescent beverage artificially charged with carbon dioxide.
carbonic acidnounRelated term
A weak acid known only in solution.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.