dark matter

noun

: nonluminous matter not yet directly detected by astronomers that is hypothesized to exist to account for various observed gravitational effects

Examples of dark matter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For example, extremely light particles, such as axions or special types of photons considered candidates for dark matter, could absorb the rotational energy of black holes, amplifying their signals. —Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 12 May 2025

Ideas like regulatory budgeting, requiring congressional approval of major rules, and exposing regulatory dark matter are gaining ground. —Clyde Wayne Crews Jr., Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025

And because dark matter has mass and therefore warps space and diverts light through its gravitational influence, lensing can also reveal the distribution of a gravitational lens' dark matter content. —Robert Lea, Space.com, 23 Apr. 2025

About 85 percent of the universe is made up of dark matter. —Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 15 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1933, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dark matter

• backscatter
• antimatter
• atter
• batter
• blatter
• catarrh
• chatter
• clatter
• fatter
• flatter
• hatter
• latter