Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Atomic |
AtomicAdjective1. Of or relating to of comprising atoms; "atomic structure"; "atomic hydrogen". 2. Weapons using atomic energy; "nuclear war"; "nuclear weapons"; "atomic bombs". 3. Immeasurably small. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "atomic" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1864. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Computing | Atomic adj. [from Gk. `atomos', indivisible] 1. Indivisible; cannot be split up. For example, an instruction may be said to do several things `atomically', i.e., all the things are done immediately, and there is no chance of the instruction being half-completed or of another being interspersed. Used esp. to convey that an operation cannot be screwed up by interrupts. "This routine locks the file and increments the file's semaphore atomically." 2. [primarily techspeak] Guaranteed to complete successfully or not at all, usu. refers to database transactions. If an error prevents a partially-performed transaction from proceeding to completion, it must be "backed out," as the database must not be left in an inconsistent state. Computer usage, in either of the above senses, has none of the connotations that `atomic' has in mainstream English (i.e. of particles of matter, nuclear explosions etc.). Source: Jargon File. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
In computer science, an atomic operation is one that either completes fully, or has no lasting effect. It is a slightly ambigious term:
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Atomic."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
ATOMIC | English | Automatic Train Operation by Mini Computer | Computing, Transportation |
| at | English | Atomic | Physics |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: AtomicSynonyms: atomlike (adj), minute (adj), nuclear (adj). (additional references) |
| Antonym: conventional (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Instantaneity | Clock, wall clock, pendulum clock, grandfather's clock, cuckoo clock, alarm clock, clock radio; watch, pocket watch, stopwatch, Swiss watch; atomic clock, digital clock, analog clock, quartz watch, water clock; chronometer, chronoscope, chronograph; repeater; timekeeper, timepiece; dial, sundial, gnomon, horologe, pendulum, hourglass, clepsydra; ghurry. |
Littleness | Impalpable, intangible, evanescent, imperceptible, invisible, inappreciable, insignificant, inconsiderable, trivial; infinitesimal, homoeopathic; atomic, subatomic, corpuscular, molecular; rudimentary, rudimental; embryonic, vestigial. |
Power | Pressure; conductivity; elasticity; gravity, electricity, magnetism, galvanism, voltaic electricity, voltaism, electromagnetism; atomic power, nuclear power, thermonuclear power; fuel cell; hydraulic power, water power, hydroelectric power; solar power, solar energy, solar panels; tidal power; wind power; attraction; vis inertiae, vis mortua, vis viva; potential energy, dynamic energy; dynamic friction, dynamic suction; live circuit, live rail, live wire. |
Ship | Ship, bark, barque, brig, snow, hermaphrodite brig; brigantine, barkantine; schooner; topsail schooner, for and aft schooner, three masted schooner; chasse-maree; sloop, cutter, corvette, clipper, foist, yawl, dandy, ketch, smack, lugger, barge, hoy, cat, buss; sailer, sailing vessel; windjammer; steamer, steamboat, steamship, liner, ocean liner, cruisp, flap, dab, pat, thump, beat, blow, bang, slam, dash; punch, thwack, whack; hit hard, strike hard; swap, batter, dowse, baste; pelt, patter, buffet, belabor; fetch one a blow; poke at, pip, ship of the line; destroyer, cruiser, frigate; landing ship, LST; aircraft carrier, carrier, flattop, nuclear powered carrier; submarine, submersible, atomic submarine. |
Smallness | Inappreciable, evanescent, infinitesimal, homeopathic, very small; atomic, corpuscular, microscopic, molecular, subatomic. |
Tenacity | Unbreakable, indivisible; atomic. |
Unity | Nseverable, indiscerptible; compact, indivisible, atomic, irresolvable. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Atomic |
| English words defined with "atomic": Atomic Energy Commission, atomic explosion, Atomic heat, atomic mass, atomic physics, Atomic weight ♦ International Atomic Energy Agency ♦ relative atomic mass. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "atomic": atomic gas, atomic rocket, Atomic Volume, atomic weight unit ♦ cesium atomic master clock ♦ International Atomic Time. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "atomic": Triatomic. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Atomic" is also a word in the following language with English translations in parentheses. Romanian (atom, atomic). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | You wanna hear something really nutty? I heard of a couple guys who wanna build something called an airplane, you know you get people to go in, and fly around like birds, it's ridiculous, right? And what about breaking the sound barrier, or rockets to the moon? Atomic energy, or a mission to Mars (Contact; writing credit: Carl Sagan;) I, uh, I'd like to talk with you sometime, sir, and tell you about my idea for harnassing the life force. It'll make atomic power look like a horse and buggy (Strangers on a Train; writing credit: Raymond Chandler; Whitfield Cook) Is the atomic weight of cobalt 58.9 (Ghostbusters II; writing credit: Dan Aykroyd; Harold Ramis) An atomic war no one wanted, but which no one had the wisdom to avoid (World Without End; writing credit: Edward Bernds) It's a particle of mud. But by virtue of its atomic structure it emits radiation (X the Unknown; writing credit: Jimmy Sangster) | |
Lyrics | I am a child of atomic war (Girl With the Hungry Eyes; performing artist: JEFFERSON STARSHIP) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Enola Gay and the Atomic Bombing of Japan (1995) Atomic Rulers of the World (1964) Onna oyabuntaiketsu no maki Atomic no obon (1961) The Atomic Submarine (1959) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References | |||
Books |
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Periodicals | |||
Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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High Tech |
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Consumer Goods | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | A computer generated image displays focused, positively charged atomic particles. Proton beam therapy uses protons to destroy cancer cells, rather than electrons which are used in traditional radiation therapy. See artwork: GA-17 Horizons of Cancer Research. Credit: Unknown photographer/artist. |  | Atomic Laboratory Experiment on Atomic Materials. Credit: NASA. |
 | Kiwi-A Prime Atomic Reactor. Credit: NASA. |  | Feasibility studies for potential nuclear waste dump site Conducted for Atomic Energy Commission. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |
 | In a study of magnesium absorption, chemist Joseph Domek measures magnesium content in water with an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Scott Bauer.. |  | Atomic Energy Commission on Amchitka. Credit: Alaska Historical Image Library. |
 | Photographed circa 1946. This view was released on 17 May 1946, in connection with the ship's role as "floating press headquarters" for the Bikini atomic bomb tests. Credit: NAVY. |  | Postal cachet commemorating the "Able" Day atomic bomb test at Bikini Atoll, 1 July 1946. The cachet, designed by Gunnery Sergeant Grant Powers, USMC, was used on mail sent from USS Appalachian (AGC-1) on that day. Credit: NAVY. |
 | Atomic threat. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Uncle Sam trying to figure out how to beat an "atomic power" bomb into a plow. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. | We have genuflected before the god of science only to find that it has given us the atomic bomb, producing fears and anxieties that science can never mitigate. |
J. Robert Oppenheimer | When you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it and you argue about what to do about it only after you have had your technical success. That is the way it was with the atomic bomb. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Winston S. Churchill | 1946 | It would nevertheless be wrong and imprudent to entrust the secret knowledge or experience of the atomic bomb, which the United States, Great Britain, and Canada now share, to the world organization, while it is still in its infancy. ("Iron Curtain" Speech) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Examples include cancer caused by nuclear fallout from atomic explosions and cancers caused by excessive exposure to radioactive chemicals. (references) | |
It has an atomic symbol K, atomic number 19, and atomic weight 39.10. It is the chief cation in the intracellular fluid of muscle and other cells. (references) | ||
Business | The company was created by a group of Russian medical scientists in cooperation with the nuclear scientists from the Federal Atomic Center. (references) | |
Said the chairman and president of the Organization for Korea Atomic Energy Awareness, “For a country with virtually no natural resources, sustaining the nuclear power generation capability is a matter of national security. (references) | ||
Graph 3 shows that imports of spectrophotometers were also not affected by the recession of 1999. The main exception was in the case of atomic adsorption spectrophotometers, which experienced a drop of over 20% in imports. (references) | ||
Economic History | Romania | Work will be carried out by Atomic Energy of Canada and the Italian firm Ansaldo. (references) |
India | Atomic energy: Mining and mineral separation, integrated activities and value addition in mining and mineral separation. (references) | |
The Holy See | The Holy See also has a member delegate at the International Atomic Energy Agency and at the UN Industrial Development Organization in Vienna. (references) | |
Political Economy | INDIA | Most sectors of the Indian economy are now open to foreign investors, except for a few big public sectors such as railways, atomic energy, and hydro-power. (references) |
Austria | Vienna is the headquarters of important international organizations like the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Wassennaar Arrangement (WA), and a branch office of the European Patent Office (EPO). (references) | |
Trade | Ecuador | The export of radioactive minerals is subject to control by the Atomic Energy Commission. (references) |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | MOLECULE, n. The ultimate, indivisible unit of matter. It is distinguished from the corpuscle, also the ultimate, indivisible unit of matter, by a closer resemblance to the atom, also the ultimate, indivisible unit of matter. Three great scientific theories of the structure of the universe are the molecular, the corpuscular and the atomic. A fourth affirms, with Haeckel, the condensation of precipitation of matter from ether -- whose existence is proved by the condensation of precipitation. The present trend of scientific thought is toward the theory of ions. The ion differs from the molecule, the corpuscle and the atom in that it is an ion. A fifth theory is held by idiots, but it is doubtful if they know any more about the matter than the others. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Harry S. Truman | 1945-1953 | I believe it possible that effective means can be developed through the United Nations Organization to prohibit, outlaw, and prevent the use of atomic energy for destructive purposes. |
John F. Kennedy | 1961-1963 | We should like to continue the exchange of views on the prohibition of atomic and thermonuclear weapons, general disarmament, and other problems relating to the relaxation of international tension. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Atomic" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 99.73% of the time. "Atomic" is used about 1,108 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 99.73% | 1,105 | 6,848 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.27% | 3 | 202,518 |
| Total | 100.00% | 1,108 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Country | Name | Country | Name |
| Canada | Atomic Energy Of Canada Limited | USA | Atomic Burrito, Inc. |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "atomic": atomic absorption spectrometry ♦ atomic absorption spectroscopy ♦ atomic age ♦ atomic artillery ♦ atomic bomb ♦ atomic City ♦ atomic clock ♦ atomic clocks ♦ atomic cocktail ♦ atomic decay ♦ atomic demolition munition ♦ atomic disintegration ♦ atomic dust ♦ atomic energy ♦ atomic Energy Commission ♦ atomic explosion ♦ atomic fission ♦ atomic fuel ♦ atomic fusion ♦ Atomic heat ♦ atomic mass ♦ atomic mass spectrometry ♦ atomic mass unit ♦ atomic monolayer ♦ atomic nucleus ♦ atomic number ♦ atomic number 1 ♦ atomic number 10 ♦ atomic number 100 ♦ atomic number 101 ♦ atomic number 102 ♦ atomic number 103 ♦ atomic number 104 ♦ atomic number 105 ♦ atomic number 106 ♦ atomic number 107 ♦ atomic number 11 ♦ atomic number 12 ♦ atomic number 13 ♦ atomic number 14 ♦ atomic number 15 ♦ atomic number 16 ♦ atomic number 17 ♦ atomic number 18 ♦ atomic number 19 ♦ atomic number 2 ♦ atomic number 20 ♦ atomic number 21 ♦ atomic number 22 ♦ atomic number 23 ♦ atomic number 24 ♦ atomic number 25 ♦ atomic number 26 ♦ atomic number 27 ♦ atomic number 28 ♦ atomic number 29 ♦ atomic number 3 ♦ atomic number 30 ♦ atomic number 31 ♦ atomic number 32 ♦ atomic number 33 ♦ atomic number 34 ♦ atomic number 35 ♦ atomic number 37 ♦ atomic number 38 ♦ atomic number 39 ♦ atomic number 4 ♦ atomic number 40 ♦ atomic number 41 ♦ atomic number 42 ♦ atomic number 43 ♦ atomic number 44 ♦ atomic number 45 ♦ atomic number 46 ♦ atomic number 47 ♦ atomic number 48 ♦ atomic number 49 ♦ atomic number 5 ♦ atomic number 50 ♦ atomic number 51 ♦ atomic number 52 ♦ atomic number 53 ♦ atomic number 54 ♦ atomic number 55 ♦ atomic number 56 ♦ atomic number 57 ♦ atomic number 58 ♦ atomic number 59 ♦ atomic number 6 ♦ atomic number 60 ♦ atomic number 61 ♦ atomic number 62 ♦ atomic number 63 ♦ atomic number 64 ♦ atomic number 65 ♦ atomic number 66 ♦ atomic number 67 ♦ atomic number 68 ♦ atomic number 69 ♦ atomic number 7 ♦ atomic number 70. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "atomic": atomic-bombed, atomic-charges, atomic-force, atomic-powered, atomic-scale, atomic-sized. | |
Ending with "atomic": inter-atomic, sub-atomic. | |
Containing "atomic": gram-atomic weight. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
atomic kitten | 5,933 | atomic alarm clock | 69 |
atomic clock | 4,282 | atomic punks | 68 |
atomic bomb | 1,176 | atomic kitten pic | 62 |
atomic time | 782 | atomic theory | 61 |
atomic | 481 | skyscan atomic clock | 59 |
atomic watch | 376 | atomic kitten.com | 54 |
atomic time clock | 256 | agency atomic energy international | 51 |
atomic kitten lyrics | 247 | atomic rooster | 49 |
atomic bomb picture | 237 | atomic dog | 48 |
atomic clock sync | 153 | us atomic clock | 48 |
atomic ski | 129 | atomic tattoo | 45 |
atomic kitten picture | 116 | atomic energy | 43 |
atomic high kitten tide | 113 | atomic kitten mp3 | 43 |
atomic bomberman | 103 | atomic by high kitten lyrics tide | 42 |
atomic wall clock | 103 | atomic speedway | 38 |
atomic structure | 98 | atomic explosion | 37 |
atomic bomb hiroshima | 96 | atomic number | 37 |
atomic high kitten lyrics tide | 95 | atomic absorption | 37 |
atomic nuclear plutonium uranium | 84 | atomic bomb pic | 36 |
neds atomic dustbin | 70 | atomic mass | 36 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "atomic"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | atomies. (various references) | |
Albanian | atomik (abc, nuclear). (various references) | |
Arabic | ذري (atomistic, nuclear), الذري. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | атомен. (various references) | |
Chinese | 原子 (atom). (various references) | |
Czech | atomový (nuclear). (various references) | |
Danish | atomenergi (atomic energy). (various references) | |
Dutch | atoom-, atomair. (various references) | |
Esperanto | atoma. (various references) | |
Farsi | مربوطبه جوهرفرد, هسته ای (Nuclear), ذره ای (Molecular), اتمی (Nuclear), ریز (Fine, Minuscule, Minute, Pony, Shred, Small, Snippet, Tiny, Wee, Weeny). (various references) | |
Finnish | atomipaino (atomic weight). (various references) | |
French | atomique. (various references) | |
Frisian | atoomenerzjy (atomic energy). (various references) | |
German | atomar (nuclear). (various references) | |
Greek | ατομικόσ (atomical, fissure, individual), ατομικός (individual, personalised). (various references) | |
Hebrew | אטומי. (various references) | |
Hungarian | atommeghajtású (nuclear powered, nuclear-propelled). (various references) | |
Italian | atomico. (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | アト"ー性皮膚炎 (ad, ad impact, add-on, add-on module, adobe, advertisement, at random, atmosphere, atom, atopic dermatitis, atrium, attraction, attractive, attractor, attribute, autoload, studio), 不可分 (indivisibility). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | ふかぶ" (indivisibility), アトミック . (various references) | |
Korean | 원자 (Atom, Atomical). (various references) | |
Manx | breneenagh (atomical). (various references) | |
Papiamen | atómiko. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | atomicay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | atômico. (various references) | |
Romanian | atomic (atom). (various references) | |
Russian | атомный (corpuscular, nuclear). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | atomski, atomiski. (various references) | |
Spanish | atómico. (various references) | |
Swedish | atomisk, atomär, atom-. (various references) | |
Thai | เกี่ยวกับอะตอม, เกี่ยวกับปรมา"ู, เล็กมาก (diminutive, micro, teensy-weensy, teeny, teeny-weeny). (various references) | |
Turkish | atomsal (atomical), atomla ilgili (atomical), atomik (atomical), atom (atom, atomical, atomy, monad, nuclear). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | атомний (corpuscular). (various references) | |
Welsh | atomig. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "atomic": atomical, atomically, atomics. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "atomic": anatomic, diatomic, interatomic, monatomic, neuroanatomic, nonanatomic, nonatomic, polyatomic, postatomic, preatomic, subatomic, triatomic. (additional references) | |
Words containing "atomic": anatomical, anatomically, microanatomical, neuroanatomical. (additional references) | |
| |
"Atomic" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: adamic, adoic, adomi, Aeolic, Altromin, Aptamil, Artemio, atmoic, atoic, atolic, atoma, atome, atomi, Atomica, atomicy, atomon, atomus, atonia, atopic, Atouma, atoxic, Automec, Automex, automic, autonic, Autronica, axonic, etonic, fatimid, latronic, matkovic, stomic, tomac, tomic, Xatmi. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "atomic" (pronounced utÄ"mik) |
| 6 | u t Ä" m i k | diatomic, monatomic, subatomic. |
| 4 | -Ä" m i k | autonomic, comic, economic, ergonomic, gastronomic, macroeconomic, microeconomic, noneconomic, socioeconomic, tragicomic, uneconomic. |
| 3 | -m i k | academic, aerodynamic, anemic, bulimic, cataclysmic, ceramic, cosmic, cytoplasmic, dynamic, electrodynamic, endemic, endothermic, epidemic, exothermic, formic, gimmick, gnomic, hemodynamic, hypodermic, hypoglycemic, hypothalamic, logarithmic, mimic, nonacademic, ophthalmic, organismic, pandemic, panoramic, patronymic, photodynamic, polemic, psychodynamic, rhythmic, samek, seismic, systemic. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-i-m-o-t" | |
-1 letter: coati. | |
-2 letters: atom, ciao, coat, coma, iota, mica, moat, omit, otic, taco. | |
-3 letters: act, aim, ait, ami, cam, cat, cot, mac, mat, moa, moc, mot, oat, oca, tam, tao, tic, tom. | |
-4 letters: ai, am, at, it, ma, mi, mo, om, ta, ti, to. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-i-m-o-t" | |
+1 letter: apomict, atomics, coadmit, comatic, comatik, comitia, osmatic, potamic, somatic. | |
+2 letters: aconitum, acrotism, amitotic, amniotic, anatomic, apomicts, aromatic, atomical, azotemic, coadmits, coinmate, comatiks, comitial, diatomic, dogmatic, impactor, iotacism, massicot, maxicoat, metazoic, monastic, romantic, stomatic, toxaemic. | |
+3 letters: aconitums, acrotisms, amaurotic, ametropic, ammonitic, amoristic, antimacho, antinomic, antonymic, apomictic, aromatics, atomistic, autoecism, automatic, autonomic, axiomatic, bombastic, chromatic, chromatid, chromatin, coinmates, collimate, combating, combative, committal, complaint, compliant, contagium, cremation, dichromat, dogmatics, encomiast, geomantic, idiomatic, impaction, impactors, iotacisms, macintosh, manicotti, manticore, masochist, massicots, maxicoats, melanotic, metabolic, microwatt, mislocate, monastics, monatomic, mortician, mosaicist, mustachio, myopathic, nonatomic, nonimpact, onomastic, ostracism, pictogram, preatomic, romantics, simpatico, stomachic, subatomic, taxonomic, timocracy, triatomic, zygomatic. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Quotations: Familiar | 9. Quotations: Historic 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 11. Quotations: Speeches 12. Usage Frequency | 13. Names: Company Usage 14. Expressions 15. Expressions: Internet 16. Translations: Modern | 17. Abbreviations 18. Acronyms 19. Derivations 20. Rhymes | 21. Anagrams 22. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
