particle

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noun par·ti·cle \ˈpär-ti-kəl\

Definition of particle

1a : a minute quantity or fragmentb : a relatively small or the smallest discrete portion or amount of something
2 archaic : a clause or article of a composition or document
3 : any of the basic units of matter and energy (such as a molecule, atom, proton, electron, or photon)
4 : a unit of speech expressing some general aspect of meaning or some connective or limiting relation and including the articles, most prepositions and conjunctions, and some interjections and adverbs the particle up has a perfective meaning in phrases such as beat up and cut up
5 : a small eucharistic wafer distributed to a Roman Catholic layman at Communion

See particle defined for English-language learners

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Examples of particle in a Sentence

There is not a particle of evidence to support their claim.
There is not a particle of truth in what he said.
The phrasal verb “look up” consists of the verb “look” and the adverbial particle “up.”

Recent Examples of particle from the Web

Use a wire brush immediately after cooking to remove excess oil and food particles.

— timothy dahl, Popular Mechanics, "The Beginner's Guide to Grilling Any Type of Food", 1 July 2017
When these oppositely charged particles within the cloud attract, cloud-to-cloud lightning occurs.

— kathryn prociv, Washington Post, "Pic of the week: Mother Nature raises the roof over Sioux Falls", 23 June 2017
A job at a computer-research unit run by his alma mater, the University of California, Berkeley, erased his aspirations to work in particle physics.

— matt day, The Seattle Times, "‘Extraordinary’ Microsoft engineer Charles Thacker inspired the PC revolution", 21 June 2017
Now Pan wants to try even more ambitious experiments: sending quantum particles from the ground to the satellite; setting up a distribution channel that will allow for transmission of tens of thousands of entangled pairs per second.

— sarah kaplan, chicagotribune.com, "Quantum entanglement, science's 'spookiest' phenomenon, achieved in space", 17 June 2017
A particle exists in a fuzzy state of uncertainty…but only until it is observed.

— NBC News, "Is the Universe Conscious?", 16 June 2017
On a busy day, for example, nearly 20,000 tourists can stream through the Sistine Chapel, according to The New York Times, trekking dirt particles and humid air with them, slowly degrading the paint on the ceiling’s artwork.

— jacoba urist, The Atlantic, "How Do You Conserve Art Made of Bologna, or Bubble Gum, or Soap?", 9 June 2017
The pollutants measured by the EPA are: ground-level ozone, particle pollution, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide.

— leigh morgan, AL.com, "Code Orange air quality alert for Birmingham metro area on Friday", 8 June 2017
A Red Moon takes place during a lunar eclipse and can also materialize when the moon is low in the sky or when the air is filled with a large amount of particles, reports Universe Today.

— samantha brodsky, House Beautiful, "You Won't Want to Miss This Week's Unique Strawberry Moon", 7 June 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of particle

Middle English, from Latin particula, from diminutive of part-, pars

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First Known Use: 14th century

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PARTICLE Defined for English Language Learners

particle

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noun

Definition of particle for English Language Learners

: a very small piece of something
: a very small amount of something
physics : any one of the very small parts of matter (such as a molecule, atom, or electron)

PARTICLE Defined for Kids

particle

play

noun par·ti·cle \ˈpär-ti-kəl\

Definition of particle for Students

: a very small bit or amount of something a particle of sand a particle of sense

Word Root of particle

The Latin word pars, meaning “part,” and its form partis give us the root part. Words from the Latin pars have something to do with a part, section, or portion. To participate is to take part in some activity. Anything partial involves only part of something. A particle is a tiny bit or portion of something. It is easy to see that part itself also comes directly from pars in both form and meaning.