particle

noun

par·​ti·​cle ˈpär-ti-kəl 

1

a

: a minute quantity or fragment

b

: 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

Synonyms of particle

• speck
• sprinkling
• hint
• glimmer
• splash
• shred
• bit
• touch
• little
• trace
• lick

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 on the Web

From cosmic ray experiments to radioactive decay experiments to solar experiments to high-energy physics experiments involving particle colliders, the Standard Model’s predictions have agreed with every single such experiment ever performed. —Big Think, 24 Mar. 2026

Physicists at New York University in the US have built a new kind of time crystal using sound waves, where particles appear to break Newton’s famous third law of motion. —Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 23 Mar. 2026

Bootstrappers take such interactions for granted by assuming Lorentz invariance (the symmetries of a flat space-time fabric for particles to move around in). —Quanta Magazine, 23 Mar. 2026

The researcher says that because antimatter particles are more massive than matter particles, during pair production in the early universe, the antimatter particles were slower than the corresponding matter particles. —Robert Lea, Space.com, 23 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing particle

• alpha particle
• beta particle
• elementary particle
• fundamental particle
• J/psi particle
• particle accelerator
• particle physics
• psi particle
• W particle
• Z particle

Rhymes for particle

• article
• interparticle
• nanoparticle
• quasiparticle

Kids Definition

particle

noun

par·​ti·​cle ˈpärt-i-kəl 

1

: one of the very small parts of matter (as a molecule, atom, or electron)

2

: a very small quantity or piece

3

: the smallest possible portion

Medical Definition

particle

noun

par·​ti·​cle ˈpärt-i-kəl 

1

: one of the minute subdivisions of matter (as an atom or molecule)

also : elementary particle

2

: a minute quantity or fragment