superposition

noun

su·​per·​po·​si·​tion ˌsü-pər-pə-ˈzi-shən 

plural superpositions

: the placement of one thing above or on top of another

The principle used to determine whether one sedimentary rock is older than another is very simple, and is known as the law of superposition. Here is an example: A deposit of mud laid down this year in, say, the Gulf of Mexico will rest on top of a layer that was deposited last year.

—Sheldon Judson and Marvin E. Kauffman

especially, physics : the combination of two distinct physical phenomena of the same type (such as spin or wavelength) so that they coexist as part of the same event

Schrödinger perversely suggested that until the box was opened and the outcome of the experiment observed, the particle must remain suspended in a superposition of two states: simultaneously going through both holes.

—George Johnson

In a quantum computer, however, the "transistors" remain in a superposition of 0 and 1 …

—Philip Yam

Examples of superposition in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For instance, when the trapping light is switched off, the nanorotor can rotate in all directions at once, much like a superposition of orientations. —Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 6 Apr. 2026

For example, the theme of superposition—put very simply, the idea that characters exist in a number of potential states simultaneously, some of them mutually exclusive, and this ambiguity or multiplicity doesn’t get resolved until some point in the future. —Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026

In contrast to conventional batteries that primarily rely on chemical reactions to store and discharge energy, quantum batteries leverage unique quantum-mechanical properties, such as superposition and entanglement. —New Atlas, 4 Apr. 2026

But rather than avoiding strange quantum phenomena such as superposition and entanglement, Bennett and Brassard embraced them. —Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 31 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1656, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for superposition

• academician
• cycloaddition
• decomposition
• diagnostician
• disinhibition
• indisposition
• interposition
• juxtaposition
• mathematician
• metacognition
• metaphysician
• neurotransmission