Definition of "carbide" [car•bide]

• A binary compound consisting of carbon and a more electropositive element, especially calcium. (noun)
• A hard material made of compacted binary compounds of carbon and heavy metals, used to make tools that cut metal. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Boron carbide is one of the two most commonly used materials in the manufacture of the ceramic ballistic-protective plates used today by America’s frontline troops."
• "Scientists have developed a way to make T-shirt fabric reinforced with boron carbide, which is the same material used to strengthen military tanks."
• "One of these was a genuine old-fashioned miner's headlamp called the carbide lantern."