atomic clock

noun

: a precision clock that depends for its operation on an electrical oscillator regulated by the natural vibration frequencies of an atomic system (such as a beam of cesium atoms)

Examples of atomic clock in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The University of Adelaide’s optical atomic clock is based on warm ytterbium vapor, a world-first technology now on the path toward commercialization. —Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 4 Nov. 2025

Since then, cooling atoms and trapping them has become a cottage industry, giving rise to optical atomic clocks, atomic navigation systems, and neutral-atom quantum computers. —IEEE Spectrum, 24 Sep. 2025

While not yet as precise as current atomic clocks, the experiment has already set the stage for one of the most sensitive dark matter detectors ever imagined. —New Atlas, 16 Sep. 2025

Inventions based on the insights of quantum mechanics, such as atomic clocks and the first lasers and semiconductors, also appeared. —Jacklin Kwan, Scientific American, 29 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1924, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for atomic clock

• electroshock
• aftershock
• antiknock
• arawak
• hollyhock
• interlock
• isopach
• manioc
• shuttlecock
• tomahawk
• weathercock
• alcock

Kids Definition

atomic clock

noun

: an extremely exact clock that depends for its operation on the natural vibrations of atoms (as of cesium)