noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The smallest particle of a specific element or compound that retains the chemical properties of that element or compound; two or more atoms held together by chemical bonds.

   "Hydrogen chloride is a diatomic molecule, consisting of a hydrogen atom and a chlorine atom."

2. 2
   (nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything wordnet
3. 3
   A tiny amount.
4. 4
   (physics and chemistry) the simplest structural unit of an element or compound wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

atomatommoteparticlespeckace

Antonyms

All antonyms

oodles

Example

More examples

"A water molecule has two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom."

Etymology

Borrowed from French molécule, from New Latin molecula (“a molecule”), diminutive of Latin moles (“a mass”).

Related phrases

God moleculeRydberg moleculecell adhesion moleculecell-adhesion moleculefuel moleculegiant moleculegram moleculesingle-molecule magnetsmall molecule drugspirit molecule

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