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graphite.

An allotrope of carbon, consisting of planes of carbon atoms arranged in hexagonal arrays with the planes stacked loosely, that is used as a dry lubricant, in "lead" pencils, and as a moderator in some nuclear reactors.

8 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈɡɹæfaɪt/US

  1. An allotrope of carbon, consisting of planes of carbon atoms arranged in hexagonal arrays with the planes stacked loosely, that is used as a dry lubricant, in "lead" pencils, and as a moderator in some nuclear reactors.

    countable · uncountable

  2. Graphite-reinforced plastic, a composite plastic made with graphite fibers noted for lightweight strength and stiffness.

    countable · uncountable
    Modern tennis racquets are made of graphite, fibreglass and other man-made materials.

  3. A grey colour, resembling graphite or the marks made with a graphite pencil.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- Proto-Hellenic *grə́pʰō Ancient Greek γράφω (gráphō) Proto-Indo-European *-tósder. Ancient Greek -της (-tēs)der. Ancient Greek -ῑ́της (-ī́tēs)der. Latin -ītēslbor. French -itebor. German -it German Graphitbor. English graphite Borrowed from German Graphit (A. G. Werner 1789), from Ancient Greek γράφω (gráphō, “to write”).

verb/ˈɡɹæfaɪt/US

  1. To apply graphite to.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- Proto-Hellenic *grə́pʰō Ancient Greek γράφω (gráphō) Proto-Indo-European *-tósder. Ancient Greek -της (-tēs)der. Ancient Greek -ῑ́της (-ī́tēs)der. Latin -ītēslbor. French -itebor. German -it German Graphitbor. English graphite Borrowed from German Graphit (A. G. Werner 1789), from Ancient Greek γράφω (gráphō, “to write”).

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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.