neutron

neu·tron | \ ˈnü-ˌträn

, ˈnyü- \

Definition of neutron

: an uncharged elementary particle that has a mass nearly equal to that of the proton and is present in all known atomic nuclei except the hydrogen nucleus

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Examples of neutron in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The collisions of black holes and neutron stars help spread heavier elements, such as gold and platinum. — Marina Koren, The Atlantic, "What Earth Owes to Black Holes," 7 Oct. 2020 These laws in turn predicted cosmic oddities such as black holes, neutron stars and gravitational waves. — Martin Rees, Scientific American, "How Astronomers Revolutionized Our View of the Cosmos," 18 Aug. 2020 Part of the significance of this mass gap is that neutron stars and black holes each represent possible outcomes for dying high-mass stars. — Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, "Distant Black Hole Collides With a Mysterious Object," 26 June 2020 The remnants of these violent explosion are called neutron stars. — Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, "What Are Stars?: A Guide," 13 June 2020 Instead of striking a single proton or neutron in an atom, a low-energy neutrino interacts with the entire nucleus. — William Charles Louis, Scientific American, "Hidden Neutrino Particles May Be a Link to the Dark Sector," 1 July 2020 From a fundamental physics perspective, the line separating neutron stars from black holes is razor thin. — Charlie Wood, Scientific American, "Mystery Object Blurs Line between Neutron Stars and Black Holes," 30 June 2020 Both black holes and neutron stars are the remains of dead stars. — Fox News, "'Mystery object' spotted by astronomers changes talk of black holes, neutron stars," 24 June 2020 Astronomers have also detected wrinkles in spacetime from colliding neutron stars. — Nadia Drake, National Geographic, "Mysterious cosmic object swallowed by black hole baffles astronomers," 24 June 2020

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

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Dictionary Entries near neutron

neutron activation analysis

neutron bomb

neutron star

Statistics for neutron

Last Updated

24 Oct 2020

Cite this Entry

“Neutron.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neutron. Accessed 30 Oct. 2020.

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More Definitions for neutron

neutron

noun

English Language Learners Definition of neutron

physics : a very small particle of matter that has no electrical charge and is part of the nucleus of all atoms except hydrogen atoms

See the full definition for neutron in the English Language Learners Dictionary

neutron

noun

neu·tron | \ ˈnü-ˌträn

, ˈnyü- \

Kids Definition of neutron

: a particle that has a mass nearly equal to that of the proton but no electrical charge and that is present in all atomic nuclei except those of hydrogen

neutron

noun

neu·tron | \ ˈn(y)ü-ˌträn

Medical Definition of neutron

: an uncharged elementary particle that has a mass nearly equal to that of the proton and is present in all known atomic nuclei except the hydrogen nucleus