Definition of dark matter
: nonluminous matter not yet directly detected by astronomers that is hypothesized to exist to account for various observed gravitational effects
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Recent Examples of dark matter from the Web
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The hypothetical building blocks of dark matter are called WIMPs, or weakly interacting massive particles.
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All attempts to directly detect dark matter and dark energy have failed, however.
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The hunt for wispy particles called axions, which might make up the dark matter whose gravity keeps galaxies from falling apart, is heating up.
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Way beyond Chicago: Astronomers baffled by galaxy with no dark matter.
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Stars, gas, and dark matter were all included in the simulation, as were gravity and other physical processes that govern the growth and behavior of black holes.
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This ancient smashup will eventually evolve into the most massive structure in the known universe: a gigantic galaxy cluster, held together by dark matter and swimming in a sea of hot, ionized gas.
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One theory suggests that dark matter is made of primordial black holes, hypothetical objects that would have formed just after the big bang.
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Without dark matter, theoretical models of our universe simply wouldn’t add up.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dark matter.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of dark matter
1979
Learn More about dark matter
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See words that rhyme with dark matter Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about dark matter
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