overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

carbon.

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.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈkɑɹ.bən/General-American/ˈkɑːbən/Received-Pronunciation
  1. 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.

    uncountable
    All life as we know it has carbon as the backbone of many of its molecules; carbon’s tetravalence gives it special importance in biochemical molecular bonds.
  2. An atom of this element, in reference to a molecule containing it.

    countable
    A methane molecule is made up of a single carbon with four hydrogens.
  3. A sheet of carbon paper.

    countable · informal
  4. A carbon copy.

    countable · informal
    Please provide me with a carbon of your form.
    Press firmly: you are making a carbon.
  5. A fossil fuel that is made of impure carbon such as coal or charcoal.

    countable · uncountable
  6. Soot.

    countable · uncountable
    Every morning she cleaned the carbon from the lamp chimneys.
  7. Soot. Especially, hardened soot as a caked-on deposit.

    countable · uncountable
    When you overhaul an engine, you need to remove the carbon from around the valve seats. The carbon buildup can be extensive.
  8. Ellipsis of carbon dioxide.

    abbreviation · alt-of · ellipsis · uncountable
    carbon neutral
    carbon capture
  9. A carbon rod or pencil used in an arc lamp.

    countable · uncountable
  10. A plate or piece of carbon used as one of the elements of a voltaic battery.

    countable · uncountable
  11. Ellipsis of carbon fiber (reinforced polymer).

    abbreviation · alt-of · countable · ellipsis · informal · uncountable
    carbon bike frame
Where this word comes from

Borrowed from French carbone, coined by Antoine Lavoisier, from Latin carbō, carbōnem (“charcoal, coal”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *kerh₃- (“to burn”).

verb/ˈkɑɹ.bən/General-American/ˈkɑːbən/Received-Pronunciation
  1. To send a carbon copy of an email message to.

    Internet · transitive · uncommon
    When I send it, I’ll carbon Julia so she’s aware.
Where this word comes from

Borrowed from French carbone, coined by Antoine Lavoisier, from Latin carbō, carbōnem (“charcoal, coal”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *kerh₃- (“to burn”).

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

carbon has 6 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

carbon studiocarbon workshello, carbon

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.