hadron

noun

had·​ron ˈha-ˌdrän How to pronounce hadron (audio)
: any of the subatomic particles (such as protons and neutrons) that are made up of quarks and are subject to the strong force
hadronic adjective

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web The second would upgrade the FCC-ee into a new hadron collider (FCC-hh) with an energy seven times that of the LHC. Yuen Yiu, Discover Magazine, 15 Oct. 2019 And a linear collider can't be repurposed into a high-energy hadron collider afterward. John Timmer, Ars Technica, 25 June 2020 But the argument had a flaw: While some hadrons do consist of pairs of quarks and anti-quarks and plausibly resemble strings, protons and neutrons contain three quarks apiece, invoking the ugly and uncertain picture of a string with three ends. Quanta Magazine, 18 Feb. 2015 Then there are dozens of particles made up of those elementary particles, including hadrons, which are constructed of quarks and gluons, and mesons, made of a quark and anti-quark. Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 19 June 2018 Physicists wanted to know what these hadrons — particularly the buildings blocks of the atom's nucleus, the proton and neutron — were made of. Amina Khan, latimes.com, 29 Mar. 2018 Among these were composite particles called hadrons. Dylan Loeb Mcclain, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2018 Quarks are tiny particles that are the building blocks of larger particles like protons, neutrons, and omega baryons, collectively called hadrons. Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, 21 Mar. 2017 Hadrons are a class of subatomic particles that includes protons and neutrons. Richard Martin, WIRED, 1 Apr. 2004 See More

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

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary hadr- thick, heavy (from Greek hadros thick) + -on entry 2

First Known Use

1962, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hadron was in 1962

Dictionary Entries Near hadron

Cite this Entry

“Hadron.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hadron. Accessed 21 Mar. 2023.

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