solid-state

adjective

sol·​id-state ˌsä-ləd-ˈstāt 

1

: relating to the properties, structure, or reactivity of solid material

especially : relating to the arrangement or behavior of ions, molecules, nucleons, electrons, and holes in the crystals of a substance (such as a semiconductor) or to the effect of crystal imperfections on the properties of a solid substance

solid-state physics

2

a

: utilizing the electric, magnetic, or optical properties of solid materials

solid-state circuitry

b

: using semiconductor devices rather than electron tubes

a solid-state radio

Examples of solid-state in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Its previous vehicles used rotating lidar sensors but the fourth-generation system uses automotive grade solid-state sensors that are much less expensive and increasingly widely available from a number of companies including Luminar, Innoviz, Hesai and Robosense. —Sam Abuelsamid, Forbes, 11 Sep. 2024

Under the hood, Asus has outfitted the Zenbook S 16 with the new AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 CPU (paired with a Radeon 880M GPU), 24 GB of RAM, and a 1-terabyte solid-state drive. —Christopher Null, WIRED, 5 Sep. 2024

These solid-state batteries are already available in some smaller electronics, but producing large versions of the batteries at vast scale continues to be a hurdle that EV manufacturers are working to overcome. —Reece Rogers, WIRED, 22 Aug. 2024

Windows 95 Enlarge / A 386 is technically capable of running Windows 95, and the 8MB of RAM and solid-state storage are both benefits that most regular 386 PCs wouldn't have had. —Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 2 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1951, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

solid-state

adjective

1

: relating to the characteristics and structure of solid material

2

: using semiconductor devices rather than electron tubes

a solid-state radio