gravitational wave

noun

: a disturbance in space-time in the form of a wave that propagates the gravitational field

Gravitational waves are a natural offshoot of the rubber-sheet construction of general relativity. Just as a massive object sitting on the fabric of spacetime creates a dimple, so moving or changing objects, under certain conditions, create wrinkles in the fabric. Those wrinkles, tiny distortions in spacetime, zoom away at the speed of light. Because these gravitational waves carry energy, anything emitting them will lose a tiny bit of its speed.

—Science

Examples of gravitational wave in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In 2017, a kilonova sent light and gravitational waves across the Universe. —Big Think, 29 Jan. 2026

As for collecting evidence of this theory, that may be a job not for the JWST or any other traditional astronomical device, but for instruments designed to detect the tiny ripples in space known as gravitational waves that mergers such as this radiate. —Robert Lea, Space.com, 22 Jan. 2026

All that energy is emitted in invisible gravitational waves, ripples in the fabric of the universe. —Phil Plait, Scientific American, 22 Jan. 2026

Dark matter, dark energy, neutron stars, and gravitational waves could all come into better focus if observed from the moon. —IEEE Spectrum, 20 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gravitational wave

• aftershave
• architrave
• autoclave
• microwave
• misbehave
• agave
• behave
• concave
• conclave
• enclave
• engrave
• enslave