gamma-ray burst

noun

gam·​ma-ray burst ˈga-mə-ˈrā- 

variants or less commonly gamma ray burst

plural gamma-ray bursts also gamma ray bursts

: a brief, powerful jet of gamma rays detected deep in space that is generated by the collapse and explosion of a celestial object

… researchers … have discovered a gamma-ray burst (GRB) approximately 2.4 billion light-years away in the constellation Sagitta that ranks as the brightest ever observed.

—Russ Nelson

Eventually, though, the neutron star slows down, probably because of magnetic braking. Then it implodes, touching off a gamma ray burst.

—Govert Schilling

—abbreviation GRB

Examples of gamma-ray burst in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Swift was originally designed to study a rare type of transient called gamma-ray bursts—seconds-long flashes of gamma-ray light that arise from the most energetic explosions in the universe. — Anna Y. Q. Ho, Scientific American, 29 June 2026

The satellite's primary objective, though, is to observe gamma-ray bursts – events triggered by the catastrophic deaths of massive stars and considered to be the most powerful types of explosions in the universe. — Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 28 June 2026

The observatory has spent over two decades as a sort of orbital sentinel that scans the cosmos for gamma-ray bursts, ready to quickly point itself at the short-lived — but insanely powerful — space explosions at a moment's notice. — Tariq Malik, Space.com, 26 June 2026

Launched in 2004 to study gamma-ray bursts, Swift remains scientifically valuable, but atmospheric drag has been pulling it dangerously close to Earth. — Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 21 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1973, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gamma-ray burst

• accursed
• amerced
• cloudburst
• coerced
• conversed
• disbursed
• dispersed
• headfirst
• immersed
• outburst
• rehearsed
• reversed