Real Dictionary

silicon
uncountable noun: Silicon is an element that is found in sand and in minerals such as quartz and granite. Silicon is used to make parts of computers and other electronic equipment.

silicon in American English
a nonmetallic chemical element occurring in several forms, found always in combination, and more abundant in nature than any other element except oxygen, with which it combines to form silica: used in the manufacture of transistors, solar cells, rectifier
noun: a nonmetallic element, having amorphous and crystalline forms, occurring in a combined state in minerals and rocks and constituting more than one fourth of the earth's crust: used in steelmaking, alloys, etc; at. wt.: 28.086; at. no.: 14; sp. gr.: 2.4 at

silicon in British English
noun: a brittle metalloid element that exists in two allotropic forms; occurs principally in sand, quartz, granite, feldspar, and clay. It is usually a grey crystalline solid but is also found as a brown amorphous powder. It is used in transistors, rectifiers,