elementary particle

noun

: any of the particles of which matter and energy are composed or which mediate the fundamental forces of nature
especially : one whose existence has not been attributed to the combination of other more fundamental entities

Examples of elementary particle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Voids could even help to nail down the nature of —elementary particles, once thought to be massless, that pervade the universe while barely interacting with ordinary matter. Michael D. Lemonick, Scientific American, 1 Jan. 2024 The standard model of elementary particles, including anti-particles. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 24 Mar. 2023 Strings also appear in the way the strong force acts among quarks, which are the elementary particles that make up a proton. Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine, 18 Apr. 2023 Alternatively, dark matter may consist of some possible elementary particles known as QCD axions that are extremely lightweight. Kat Friedrich, Popular Mechanics, 10 Mar. 2023 Instead, it was first used to explain how protons and neutrons are made of elementary particles called quarks and gluons. WIRED, 10 Aug. 2023 Viewed from afar, as if through a telescope, a black hole should behave like a planet, a star, or any other conglomerate of elementary particles. Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 2 Aug. 2023 After the Big Bang In the first milliseconds after the Big Bang, the universe was hot, dense and full of elementary particles like protons, neutrons and electrons swimming around in a plasma. Anne-Katherine Burns, The Conversation, 26 July 2023 The Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC) collided electrons and other particles at nearly lightspeed, allowing physicists to make Nobel Prize-winning discoveries about the quark, an elementary particle. Jonathon Keats, Discover Magazine, 6 Aug. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'elementary particle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1934, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of elementary particle was in 1934

Dictionary Entries Near elementary particle

Cite this Entry

“Elementary particle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elementary%20particle. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

elementary particle

noun
: any of the particles (as electrons or photons) of matter and energy that are smaller than atoms and do not appear to be made up of a combination of more basic things

Medical Definition

elementary particle

noun
1
: any of the particles of which matter and energy are composed or which mediate the fundamental forces of nature
especially : one (as the photon or the electron) whose existence has not been attributed to the combination of other more fundamental entities
2
: one of the structural units of mitochondrial cristae that are observable by the electron microscope usually as spheres or stalked spheres and are probably the seat of fundamental energy-producing reactions

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