atom

«atom» in Mova's school dictionary: the smallest piece of a chemical element, far too small… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (an atom, atoms)

meaning for a pupil

1) An atom is the smallest piece of a chemical element, far too small to see even with an ordinary microscope; everything around us is made of atoms. tree →

2) An atom has a tiny centre called the nucleus, with even tinier electrons moving around it. tree →

3) (figurative) «Not an atom of» means not even the tiniest bit: «not an atom of truth». tree →

4) To atoms means into tiny broken pieces, as when something is smashed to bits. tree →

sense in the lessons

In science lessons atoms come in materials and chemistry: atoms join together to make molecules (two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom make a water molecule), and different kinds of atom are the elements on the periodic table, like carbon, oxygen and gold. Phrases: «atom bomb» (a nuclear bomb), «split the atom». Atoms are so small that millions would fit across the full stop at the end of this sentence.

examples

• Everything is made of tiny atoms. tree →
• A water molecule has two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. tree →
• Gold is made only of gold atoms. tree →
• An atom is mostly empty space. tree →
• Scientists use special microscopes to see the shapes of atoms. tree →
• The word «atom» comes from a Greek word meaning «cannot be cut». tree →
• There wasn't an atom of doubt in her mind. tree →
• In a moment the witch had the bridge shivered to atoms, and then she hastened away to the palace. tree →

note

Plural «atoms»; use «an atom» because it starts with a vowel sound. Adjective «atomic». Trap: the name means «uncuttable», but atoms can be split into smaller parts (protons, neutrons, electrons). An atom is not a cell: cells are in living things and are made of billions of atoms. Do not confuse atom and molecule: a molecule is two or more atoms joined.

In the corpora

• Atoms are not destroyed when ice melts or a smell spreads; the same atoms just move about and change partners.
• Everything around us is made of tiny particles called atoms.
• A single hair is hundreds of thousands of atoms wide.
• Even one pencil dot holds more atoms than the number of people who have ever lived.
• An atom is made of smaller parts: protons and neutrons in a tiny middle called the nucleus, and electrons around it.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «atom» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.