particle physics

noun

: a branch of physics dealing with the constitution, properties, and interactions of elementary particles especially as revealed in experiments using particle accelerators

called also high-energy physics

particle physicist noun

Examples of particle physics in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The team shared the spectrum with Avishay Gal-Yam, dean of the faculty of physics and professor of particle physics at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science. Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2025 Physicists know that the standard model of particle physics is not complete. Bruce Dorminey, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025 These pulses seemed to defy current understandings of particle physics, since radio waves caused by neutrinos are not expected to be able to pass through so much rock. Amber X. Chen, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 June 2025 Run 2 took place between 2015 and 2018, and was crucial in refining our understanding of the Standard Model of particle physics, as well as probing the properties of the Higgs boson with greater detail. Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 12 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for particle physics

Word History

First Known Use

1946, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of particle physics was in 1946

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Cite this Entry

“Particle physics.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/particle%20physics. Accessed 5 Sep. 2025.

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