Definitions
(nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything
Word origin
From Middle English attome, from Middle French athome, from Latin atomus (“smallest particle”), from Ancient Greek ἄτομος (átomos, “indivisible”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + τέμνω (témnō, “to cut”, o-grade in τομ-) + -ος (-os). Atoms are so named because they were historically thought up as to be the smallest unit of matter, and thus indivisible. Doublet of atomus.
Used in a sentence
“Towards the following morning, the thermometer fell to 5°; and at daylight, there was not an atom of water to be seen in any direction.”
“But at this critical moment the pirate astern sent a mischievous shot and knocked one of the men to atoms at the helm.”
“"Doctor, tell me one word more," said Theodore, quivering with suppressed emotion. "How do you think it will end?" / "I have hardly the faintest atom of hope," answered this honest, earnest man.”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer8 curated clues
01“Basic matter unit”4 letters
02“Matter's tiny unit”4 letters
03“Microscopic matter unit”4 letters
04“Particle of matter”4 letters
05“Physics particle”4 letters
06“Smallest chemistry unit”4 letters
07“Tiny unit of matter”4 letters
08“Tiny matter unit”4 letters
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