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  • hawking
    hawking
    noun
    the sport of hunting with hawks or other birds of prey; falconry.
  • Hawking
    Hawking
    noun
    Stephen William, 1942–2018, English mathematician and theoretical physicist.
Synonyms

hawking

1 American  
[haw-king] / ˈhɔ kɪŋ /

noun

  1. the sport of hunting with hawks or other birds of prey; falconry.

Hawking 2 American  
[haw-king] / ˈhɔ kɪŋ /

noun

  1. Stephen William, 1942–2018, English mathematician and theoretical physicist.

Hawking 1 British  
/ ˈhɔːkɪŋ /

noun

  1. Stephen William. Born 1942, British physicist. Stricken with a progressive nervous disease since the 1960s, he has nevertheless been a leader in cosmological theory. His publications intended for a wide audience include A Brief History of Time (1987) and The Grand Design (2010)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
hawking 2 British  
/ ˈhɔːkɪŋ /

noun

  1. another name for falconry

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Hawking Scientific  
/ hô′kĭng /

  1. British physicist noted for his study of black holes and the origin of the universe, especially the big bang theory. His work has provided much of the mathematical basis for scientific explanations of the physical properties of black holes.

Etymology

Origin of hawking

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at hawk 1, -ing 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In the 1960s Stephen Hawking demonstrated the Big Bang in theory, while Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson had detected the background radiation that proved decisive evidence of the event.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

But in 1970, physicist Stephen Hawking proposed another possibility.

From Science Daily • Apr. 8, 2026

His case is in many ways similar to others with severe neuromotor disorders, such as British physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking, who was confined to a wheelchair and could only communicate through a voice synthesiser.

From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026

The famous theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who died in 2016 at age 76, is an example of someone who survived for 55 years with the disease after being diagnosed at age 21.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2025

The letter inside was typed, obviously, because Stephen Hawking can’t use his hands, because he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which I know about, unfortunately.

From "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.