An atomic operation.
"The software update used an atomic operation to ensure that no data was lost during a power outage."
immeasurably small
"The atomic details of the landscape were so fine that they seemed to vanish under the microscope."
Of or relating to atoms; composed of atoms; monatomic.
"The atomic structure of every element determines its chemical properties and how it bonds with other substances."
In plain English: Atomic means made of atoms, which are the tiny building blocks that everything is built from.
"The atomic bomb changed history forever."
Usage: Use atomic when describing physical properties related to individual atoms, such as an atom's radius or mass. Avoid confusing this scientific term with the colloquial phrase "going nuclear," which refers specifically to weapons rather than elemental structure.
The word comes from the suffix "-ic," which was added to "atom." It entered English through New Latin as atomicus, likely influenced by the similar-sounding French term atomique.