Semiconductor

/ˌsɛmikənˈdʌktə/ · noun

Meaning

(physics) A substance with electrical properties intermediate between a good conductor and a good insulator..

Definitions by Sense

1. (physics) A substance with electrical properties intermediate between a good conductor and a good insulator.
2. (business, metonymic) Ellipsis of semiconductor device.

Example Sentences

Holonyms: chip, microchip, integrated circuit

Integrated circuits are made from semiconductors, especially silicon.

In this sense we are to understand the following table in which bodies are classed as conductors, semiconductors, and nonconductors; those bodies being conveniently designated as conductors which, when applied to an electroscope charged with either kind of electricity discharge it almost instantaneously; semiconductors being those which discharge it in a short but measurable time, a few seconds, for instance; while nonconductors effect no discharge even, in the course of a minute.

The following table of conductors may therefore be used in inverse order as a table of resistances, the good conductors being bodies of slight resistance, the semiconductors being bodies of great resistance, and the insulators being bodies of so great resistance that they almost effectually oppose the passage of any current.

Near-synonyms: chip, microchip, integrated circuit

The company supplies semiconductors to laptop, server, and smartphone manufacturers.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. on Wednesday said its revenues increased more sharply in the first quarter of 2024 than in any previous quarter since 2022 following a surge in demand for microchips driven by the artificial-intelligence boom. TSMC, which supplies semiconductors to top companies including Apple and Nvidia, posted a 16.5% increase in its first-quarter sales to NT$592.64 billion ($18.54 billion), in a sign the global chip market has now started recovering from the major slump that hit sales in 2023.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo proudly held up the progress of American industry on semiconductor manufacturing Sunday, declaring the U.S. has “outinnovated” China as the two nations fight to advance their domestic technology manufacturing.

Synonyms for semiconductor

Antonyms for semiconductor

Related Words

Word Forms

• semiconductors

Usage Notes

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