graviton

noun

grav·​i·​ton ˈgra-və-ˌtän 

: a hypothetical particle with zero charge and rest mass that is held to be the quantum of the gravitational field

Examples of graviton in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And these light particles tend to end up being related to two possibilities: either a light tower of strings; or long wavelengths of gravitons in some extra dimensions. —Steven Strogatz, Quanta Magazine, 29 May 2025

From the space-time perspective, these curves capture events beyond the purview of trace phi cubed theory: colorless particles that the researchers believe could eventually describe gravitons. —Charlie Wood, WIRED, 3 Nov. 2024

The emptiness of the vacuum in quantum theory belies a sea of particles—photons, electrons, gravitons, and more—that conspire to make empty space feel empty. —Ahmed Almheiri, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2022

Word History

Etymology

gravit(y) + -on entry 2, after Russian gravitón

Note: The term was introduced by the Russian physicists Dmitrij Ivanovič Bloxincev (1908-79) and Fëdor Matveevič Gal'perin (1903-85) in "Gipoteza nejtrino i zakon soxranenija ènergii," Pod znamenem marksizma, vol. 6 (1934), pp. 147-57.

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above