Compton

American  

[komp-tuhn] / ˈkɒmp tən /

noun

1. Arthur Holly 1892–1962, U.S. physicist: Nobel Prize 1927.

2. his brother Karl Taylor 1887–1954, U.S. physicist.

3. Spencer, Earl of Wilmington, 1673?–1743, British statesman: prime minister 1742–43.

4. a city in SW California.

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Compton British  

noun

1. Arthur Holly. 1892–1962, US physicist, noted for his research on X-rays, gamma rays, and nuclear energy: Nobel prize for physics 1927

2. Denis . 1918–97, English cricketer, who played for Middlesex and England (1937–57); broke two records in 1947 scoring 3816 runs and 18 centuries in one season

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Compton Scientific  

/ kŏmp′tən /

1. American physicist who showed that when particles of light (called photons) collide with other particles, such as electrons, they lose energy and momentum and the light's wavelength increases. For his discovery of this phenomenon (which became known as the Compton effect) he shared the 1927 Nobel Prize for physics with Charles Wilson. He also discovered the electrical nature of cosmic rays.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Compton

Four Star Chemical and American Labs operated in the late 1970s and 1980s at 5701 Compton Ave. handling hazardous waste.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

I remember walking home from Compton High carrying my paintings when I ran into him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

When they faced one another it was absorbing - two players who knew each other's games inside out, from years spent on the practice courts in Compton, California.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

Compton Unified has been screening students for math difficulties three times a year for students in kindergarten through eighth grade, according to Jennifer Moon, Compton Unified’s executive director of educational services for K-8.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

Elated—perhaps in part because he had won his January bet with Lawrence that the chain reaction would be going by the end of that year— Compton called Conant in Cambridge.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik