meson

noun

me·​son ˈme-ˌzän 

ˈme-ˌsän,

ˈmā-ˌzän,

ˈmā-ˌsän  ˈmē-ˌzän  ˈmē-ˌsän 

: any of a group of fundamental particles (such as the pion and kaon) made up of a quark and an antiquark that are subject to the strong force and have zero or an integer number of quantum units of spin

mesonic

me-ˈzä-nik 

me-ˈsä-

mā-ˈzä-

mā-ˈsä- 

mē-ˈzä-

mē-ˈsä- 

adjective

Examples of meson in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Differences between matter and antimatter have previously been observed in the behaviour of another type of particle, mesons, which are made of a quark and an antiquark. —William Barter, Space.com, 1 Aug. 2025

Previous experiments dating back to 1964 had seen CP violation in meson particles, which unlike baryons are made of a quark-antiquark pair. —Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 16 July 2025

The protons and neutrons have three quarks (and gluons), and there's a whole family of particles called mesons, which contain two quarks (and gluons). —Paul Sutter, Space.com, 24 Dec. 2024

Any leakage is carried by the color-neutral pion and kindred mesons. —Aaron Shattuck, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary mes- + -on entry 2

First Known Use

1939, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing meson

• K-meson
• pi-meson

Rhymes for meson

• anton
• argon
• axon
• baronne
• baryon
• baton
• boron
• buisson
• bygone
• capon
• cardon
• chiffon

Kids Definition

meson

noun

me·​son ˈmez-ˌän  ˈmes-  ˈmā-ˌzän  ˈmē- 

-ˌsän

: any of a group of elementary particles that act strongly on one another and are among the products of nuclear collisions

Medical Definition

meson

noun

me·​son ˈmez-ˌän  ˈmēz- 

ˈmēs-,

ˈmes-

: any of a group of unstable elementary particles that are subject to nuclear forces and have masses much greater than that of the electron

mesonic

me-ˈzän-ik  mē- 

-ˈsän-

adjective