gamma

noun gam·ma \ ˈga-mə \

|Updated on: 1 Aug 2018

Definition of gamma

1 : the 3rd letter of the Greek alphabet — see Alphabet Table

2 : the degree of contrast of a developed photographic image or of a video image

3 : a unit of magnetic flux density equal to one nanotesla

4 : gamma ray

gamma counter

5 : microgram

See gamma defined for English-language learners

See gamma defined for kids

Recent Examples of gamma from the Web

Tanaka also works on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, which has been taking images of the entire gamma-ray sky every three hours for about 10 years.

— mark bowen, Scientific American, "Neutrinos on Ice: Astronomers' Long Hunt for Source of Extragalactic "Ghost Particles" Pays Off," 12 July 2018
Six days after Tanaka’s alert, the operators of MAGIC, the Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov Telescope on the La Palma Canary Island, announced the observation of very high-energy gammas coming from TXS.

— mark bowen, Scientific American, "Neutrinos on Ice: Astronomers' Long Hunt for Source of Extragalactic "Ghost Particles" Pays Off," 12 July 2018
When that happened, observatories around the world, from an optical telescope in the Canary Islands to a gamma-ray observatory orbiting hundreds of miles above the Earth, leapt to action.

— eoin o'carroll, The Christian Science Monitor, "Neutrino demonstration heralds a new way of observing the cosmos," 12 July 2018
The community responded: Nearly 20 telescopes on the ground and in space scoured that patch across the electromagnetic spectrum, from low-energy radio waves to high-energy gamma-rays.

— mike wall, NBC News, "High-energy 'ghost particle' traced to distant galaxy in astronomy breakthrough," 12 July 2018
According to the study, in the 1970s, co-author Brazilian scientist Sérgio Mascarenhas discovered that X-Ray and gamma-ray radiation exposure caused human bones to become weakly magnetic.

— julissa treviño, Smithsonian, "Researchers Identify How Much Radiation Hiroshima Victims Were Exposed to," 3 May 2018
Hempseeds are rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) and other nutrients that contain trace or no THC.

— christy brissette, chicagotribune.com, "Milk, bread, hemp oil? On 4/20, a dietitian's guide to the cannabis items in your grocery store," 20 Apr. 2018
The cause of this pole/equator shift in gamma-ray emission remains unknown.

— shannon hall, Scientific American, "The Sun Is Spitting Out Strange Patterns of Gamma Rays—and No One Knows Why," 28 Mar. 2018
That means optical, radio-frequency, X-ray and gamma-ray observations can all be correlated with the gravitational data.

— The Economist, "Gravitational-wave astronomy starts in earnest," 16 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gamma.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of gamma

Middle English, borrowed from Latin, borrowed from Greek gȧmma, borrowed from Phoenician *gaml-, perhaps with the original sense "throwing stick"

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

gamma

adjective

Definition of gamma

1 : of, relating to, or being one of three or more closely related chemical substances

2 : third in position in the structure of an organic molecule from a particular group or atom —symbol γ

Recent Examples of gamma from the Web

That spacecraft traced the neutrino back to an obscure dot in the sky, a distant galaxy known as TXS 0506+056, just off the left shoulder of the constellation Orion, which was having a high-energy outburst of X-rays and gamma-rays.

— dennis overbye, New York Times, "It Came From a Black Hole, and Landed in Antarctica," 12 July 2018
This revealed phytanic acid (frequently found in the fat and milk of ruminants), azelaic acid (common in wholegrain cereals) and gamma-terpinene (typically found in herbs like coriander).

— The Economist, "A mummy’s final meal adds to an ancient mystery," 12 July 2018
Of course the frisker was measuring gamma waves in addition to alpha and beta particles; all these people presumably cared about was the particles, which could continue to do harm after being removed from the zone.

— aaron gilbreath, Longreads, "As Innocuous as Plant No. 1," 10 Apr. 2018
Sony also adds support for gamma curves, allowing you to correct for different lighting situations while filming and ultimately, a different style for every curve.

— stefan etienne, The Verge, "Sony A7 III and A7R III review: mirrorless magic," 30 Mar. 2018
But black holes produce their own radiation, especially high-energy X-rays and gamma-rays, which shoot out from the star in the form of tightly collimated...

— Newsweek, "Analysis," 14 Mar. 2018
The collective radiation from all of these hydrogen atom collisions, in the form of light, heat, gamma rays, and X-rays, slowly makes its way to the outer layer of a star.

— mike lynch / sky watch, Twin Cities, "Sky Watch: Inside the violent core of a star (and our sun)," 18 Mar. 2017
The machine uses gamma rays to shrink brain tumors as an alternative to open-skull surgery, Andy Marso reports.

— max londberg, kansascity.com, "Morning Rush: Chiefs fire GM John Dorsey, roaches at area food operations, Big Slick," 23 June 2017
World View has since carried other experiments, including a gamma ray detector and a remote-sensing system.

— adam mann, Science | AAAS, "Commercial balloons in the stratosphere could monitor hurricanes and scan for solar storms," 22 June 2017

Origin and Etymology of gamma

attributive use of ¹gamma

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1834

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

GAMMA Defined for English Language Learners

gamma

noun

Definition of gamma for English Language Learners

: the third letter of the Greek alphabet

Medical Dictionary

gamma

noun gam·ma \ ˈgam-ə \

medical Definition of gamma

1 : the third letter of the Greek alphabet —symbol Γ or γ

2 : a unit of magnetic flux density equal to one nanotesla

3 : gamma ray —usually used as the attributive form of gamma ray

gamma counter

4 : microgram 1

gamma

adjective

variants: or γ-

medical Definition of gamma

1 : of or relating to one of three or more closely related chemical substances

the gamma chain of hemoglobin

γ-yohimbine

—used somewhat arbitrarily to specify ordinal relationship or a particular physical form and especially one that is allotropic, isomeric, or stereoisomeric (as in gamma benzene hexachloride)

2 : third in position in the structure of an organic molecule from a particular group or atom; also : occurring at or having a structure characterized by such a position