particle

noun

par·​ti·​cle ˈpär-ti-kəl 

1

a

: a minute quantity or fragment

b

: a relatively small or the smallest discrete portion or amount of something

2

archaic : a clause or article of a composition or document

3

: any of the basic units of matter and energy (such as a molecule, atom, proton, electron, or photon)

4

: a unit of speech expressing some general aspect of meaning or some connective or limiting relation and including the articles, most prepositions and conjunctions, and some interjections and adverbs

the particle up has a perfective meaning in phrases such as beat up and cut up

5

: a small eucharistic wafer distributed to a Roman Catholic layman at Communion

Synonyms of particle

• speck
• sprinkling
• hint
• glimmer
• splash
• shred
• bit
• touch
• little
• trace
• lick

Examples of particle in a Sentence

There is not a particle of evidence to support their claim.

There is not a particle of truth in what he said.

The phrasal verb “look up” consists of the verb “look” and the adverbial particle “up.”

Recent Examples on the Web

Most are no larger than a particle of dust, or grain of sand. — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 13 Aug. 2026

There is also a record that staff there was improperly emitting particles through their smokestack. — Dave Savini, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026

The researchers used an experiment at RHIC called STAR (Solenoidal Tracker at RHIC) to pinpoint the baryon number’s transport between particles by looking at collisions of two heavy nuclei, ruthenium and zirconium. — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 13 Aug. 2026

Great balls of glue Enter the BES III experiment, an electron-positron collider specifically designed to study J/ψ particles for telltale glueball signatures. — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 12 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin particula, from diminutive of part-, pars

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing particle

• alpha particle
• beta particle
• elementary particle
• fundamental particle
• J/psi particle
• particle accelerator
• particle physics
• psi particle
• W particle
• Z particle

Rhymes for particle

• article
• interparticle
• nanoparticle
• quasiparticle

Kids Definition

particle

noun

par·​ti·​cle ˈpärt-i-kəl 

1

: one of the very small parts of matter (as a molecule, atom, or electron)

2

: a very small quantity or piece

3

: the smallest possible portion

Medical Definition

particle

noun

par·​ti·​cle ˈpärt-i-kəl 

1

: one of the minute subdivisions of matter (as an atom or molecule)

also : elementary particle

2

: a minute quantity or fragment