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

Physicists at the University of Toronto have developed the world’s first cryogenic single-ion optical atomic clock, a next-generation instrument that could be 100 times more accurate than the clocks currently used to define the length of a second. —Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 17 Nov. 2025

Scientists first started cooling atoms down in an effort to make better atomic clocks back in the 1970s. —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)