muon

noun

mu·​on ˈmyü-ˌän 

: an unstable lepton that is common in the cosmic radiation near the earth's surface, has a mass about 207 times the mass of the electron, and exists in negative and positive forms

muonic

myü-ˈä-nik 

adjective

Examples of muon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Using just 25 percent of the experiment’s data, the collaboration has placed the strongest direct limit yet on the muon EDM. — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 15 Aug. 2026

In 2014, a collaboration among researchers in Budapest, Hungary; Marseille, France; and Wuppertal, Germany — the BMW group — started on a project to use lattice QCD to calculate the muon g-factor. — Matt Von Hippel, Quanta Magazine, 29 July 2026

To make sure the muons and electrons detected by the detectors really come from neutrino interactions, the detectors need to be placed deep underground where other cosmic particles cannot reach. — Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 13 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

contraction of earlier mu-meson, from mu

First Known Use

1951, in the meaning defined above