Carborundum

//ˌkɑɹ.bəˈɹʌn.dəm// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Alternative letter-case form of carborundum. alt-of, uncountable
  2. 2
    Crystals of silicon carbide used as an abrasive. uncountable

    "There is no doubt that such a button — properly prepared under great pressure — of carborundum, especially of powder of the best quality, will withstand the effect of the bombardment fully as well as anything we know."

  3. 3
    an abrasive composed of silicon carbide crystals wordnet

Example

More examples

"There is no doubt that such a button — properly prepared under great pressure — of carborundum, especially of powder of the best quality, will withstand the effect of the bombardment fully as well as anything we know."

Etymology

Blend of carbon + corundum; originally a trade name.

Related phrases

silicon carbide

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.