In physics, a quark is one of the basic units of matter.
quark in British English1
(kwɑːk)
noun
physics
any of a set of six hypothetical elementary particles together with their antiparticles thought to be fundamental units of all baryons and mesons but unable to exist in isolation. The magnitude of their charge is either two thirds or one third of that of the electron
Word origin
C20: coined by James Joyce in the novel Finnegans Wake, and given special application in physics
quark in British English2
(kwɑːk)
noun
a type of low-fat soft cheese
Word origin
from German
quark in American English
(kwɔrk; kwɑrk)
noun
US, Particle Physics
any of a set of elementary particles that bind together in various combinations to form hadrons
see also flavor (sense 5), color (sense 19), fermion
Word origin
arbitrary use (by M. Gell-Mann) of a word used by James Joyce in Finnegans Wake, prob. < archaic quark, to croak, of echoic orig.
Examples of 'quark' in a sentence
quark
This led to the idea of quarks as the basic building blocks of matter.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
There are also six types of quarks.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The standard model deals with the interactions between tiny particles such as quarks and gluons.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
It is easy to construct pictorial models of particles such as the proton in which the constituent quarks are confined.
Porush, David A Short Guide to Writing About Science (1995)
Two of these little building blocks are called quarks, and the other is the electron.
The Sun (2010)
Quarks, for instance, which are subatomic particles that make up matter.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Others, such as quarks, are the constituents of other particles.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Word lists with
quark
cheese
All related terms of 'quark'
b quark
Physics See bottom quark Also : b-quark
top quark
a type of quark with a mass of c. 176 to 199 GeV/c 2 , a positive charge 2 ⁄ 3 that of an electron , zero charm , and zero strangeness
up quark
a type of quark with a mass of c. 0.002 to 0.008 GeV/c 2 , a positive charge that is 2 ⁄ 3 that of an electron , zero charm , and zero strangeness
charm quark
→ charmed quark
down quark
a type of quark with a mass of c . 0.005 to 0.015 GeV/c 2 , a negative charge that is 1 ⁄ 3 the charge of an electron , zero charm , and zero strangeness
truth quark
→ top quark
beauty quark
→ bottom quark
bottom quark
a type of quark with a mass of c. 4.7 to 5.3 GeV/c 2 , a negative charge that is 1 ⁄ 3 the charge of an electron , zero charm , and zero strangeness
charmed quark
a type of quark with a mass of c. 1.0 to 1.6 GeV/c 2 , a positive charge that is 2 ⁄ 3 the charge of an electron , +1 charm , and zero strangeness
strange quark
a type of quark with a mass of c. 0.1 to 0.3 GeV/c 2 , a negative charge that is 1 ⁄ 3 the charge of an electron , zero charm , and −1 strangeness