Definition of elementary particle in US English:
elementary particle
nounˈˌɛləˈmɛnt(ə)ri ˈpɑrdəkəl
Any of various fundamental subatomic particles, including those that are the smallest and most basic constituents of matter (leptons and quarks) or are combinations of these (hadrons, which consist of quarks), and those that transmit one of the four fundamental interactions in nature (gravitational, electromagnetic, strong, and weak).
Compare with subatomic particle, and see baryon, boson, gluon, graviton, meson, photon, W particle, Z particle
Example sentencesExamples
- This interactive table presents the elementary particles of the standard model as well as the conjectured graviton.
- Other elementary particles can be created out of thin air from pure energy.