space-time

noun

ˈspās-ˈtīm 

ˈspās-ˌtīm

1

: a system of one temporal and three spatial coordinates by which any physical object or event can be located

called also space-time continuum

2

: the whole or a portion of physical reality determinable by a usually four-dimensional coordinate system

also : the properties characteristic of such an order

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

These powerful celestial phenomena also have a way of superheating the material around them and warping space-time. —Ashley Strickland, CNN, 14 Apr. 2023

With Einstein and relativity, a big insight is that space and time don’t really exist as separate entities so much as there’s this one thing called the space-time continuum. —Quanta Magazine, 29 Mar. 2023

That’s why it’s called space-time. —Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, 2 Mar. 2023

He probably is best known for creating a type of space-time block code commonly used in wireless cellular communications. —IEEE Spectrum, 7 Nov. 2022

Regardless of their celebrity, all contributors were paid at the same rate per word, so Trotsky received $106 for his entry on Lenin, while Einstein earned $86.40 for his shorter piece on space-time. —Dennis Duncan, Washington Post, 26 Feb. 2023

Others caution that the road from negative energies to exotic shapes of space-time is winding and uncertain. —Tara C. Smith, Quanta Magazine, 23 Feb. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

1910, in the meaning defined at sense 1