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.—
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The perfect way to test that is to use gravitational waves to measure the surface of two colliding black holes and the resulting, unified black hole.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 14 Sep. 2025
The instruments detected gravitational waves, faint ripples in space-time produced by the two black holes slamming into each other.
—Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025
These black holes had masses 30 to 40 times that of our sun, so their collision was very similar to the one that led to the first gravitational wave detection back in 2015.
—Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 11 Sep. 2025
And that sensitivity enabled the collaboration to record the sharpest gravitational wave signal thus far, dubbed GW250114.
—Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gravitational wave
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Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 14 Sep. 2025
The instruments detected gravitational waves, faint ripples in space-time produced by the two black holes slamming into each other.
—Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025
These black holes had masses 30 to 40 times that of our sun, so their collision was very similar to the one that led to the first gravitational wave detection back in 2015.
—Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 11 Sep. 2025
And that sensitivity enabled the collaboration to record the sharpest gravitational wave signal thus far, dubbed GW250114.
—Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gravitational wave
Cite this Entry
“Gravitational wave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gravitational%20wave. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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