English > carbon: 3 senses > noun 1, substance| Meaning | An abundant nonmetallic tetravalent element occurring in three allotropic forms: amorphous carbon and graphite and diamond; occurs in all organic compounds. |
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| Synonyms | C, atomic number 6 |
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| Narrower | activated carbon, activated charcoal | powdered or granular carbon used for purifying by adsorption |
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| carbon black, lampblack, soot, smut, crock | A black colloidal substance consisting wholly or principally of amorphous carbon and used to make pigments and ink |
| char | A charred substance |
| charcoal, wood coal | A carbonaceous material obtained by heating wood or other organic matter in the absence of air |
| diamond, adamant | Very hard native crystalline carbon valued as a gem |
| fullerene | A form of carbon having a large molecule consisting of an empty cage of sixty or more carbon atoms |
| graphite, black lead, plumbago | Used as a lubricant and as a moderator in nuclear reactors |
| radiocarbon, carbon 14 | A radioactive isotope of carbon |
| Broader | chemical element, element | Any of the more than 100 known substances (of which 92 occur naturally) that cannot be separated into simpler substances and that singly or in combination constitute all matter |
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| Substance of | coal | fossil fuel consisting of carbonized vegetable matter deposited in the Carboniferous period |
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| limestone | A sedimentary rock consisting mainly of calcium that was deposited by the remains of marine animals |
| petroleum, crude oil, crude, rock oil, fossil oil, oil | A dark oil consisting mainly of hydrocarbons |
| Spanish | carbono, número atómico 6, número atòmico 6 |
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| Catalan | carboni, número atòmic 6 |
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| Adjectives | carbocyclic | having or relating to or characterized by a ring composed of carbon atoms |
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| carbonaceous, carbonous, carbonic, carboniferous | relating to or consisting of or yielding carbon |
| Verbs | carbonate | turn into a carbonate |
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| carbonize, carbonise | turn into carbon, as by burning |
| carbonize, carbonise, carburize, carburise | unite with carbon |
