gravitational wave

noun

: a disturbance in space-time in the form of a wave that propagates the gravitational field

Gravitational waves are a natural offshoot of the rubber-sheet construction of general relativity. Just as a massive object sitting on the fabric of spacetime creates a dimple, so moving or changing objects, under certain conditions, create wrinkles in the fabric. Those wrinkles, tiny distortions in spacetime, zoom away at the speed of light. Because these gravitational waves carry energy, anything emitting them will lose a tiny bit of its speed.

—Science

Examples of gravitational wave in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That 2017 event marked the first time astronomers had all of the necessary pieces of information to confirm predictions about the merging of neutron stars and the production of gravitational waves followed by signals in gamma rays, X-rays, optical and infrared light. —Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2024

Neutron star collisions cause high-energy phenomena ranging from gamma rays to gravitational waves. —Chris Impey, Discover Magazine, 8 Apr. 2024

These could potentially collect images of Earth-sized exoplanets, and seismometers placed at cold traps could measure the moon’s own movement amidst gravitational waves. —Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Mar. 2024

These projects note how the distance between two objects changes ever so slightly as a gravitational wave ripples by. —Popular Science, 7 Feb. 2024

The gravitational waves sent out by colliding black holes make a sound—or translate into a sound—something like a bell being rung. —Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2024

Other sessions at this year’s meeting will explore new malaria vaccines poised to save tens of thousands of children each year, the observation of gravitational waves from supermassive black holes in motion, and the development of a new class of drugs that targets obesity and related diseases. —Philip Distefano, The Denver Post, 16 Feb. 2024

Those loops disappear by irradiating gravitational waves. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 28 June 2023

If astronomers could pick up a gravitational wave signature in conjunction with such a GRB in the future, that could tell them more about this kind of stellar death. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 22 June 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above