Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Jump To:
  • angstrom
    angstrom
    noun
    a unit of length, equal to one tenth of a millimicron, or one ten millionth of a millimeter, primarily used to express electromagnetic wavelengths. Å; A
  • Ångström
    Ångström
    noun
    Anders Jonas 1814–74, Swedish astronomer and physicist.

angstrom

1 American  
[ang-struhm] / ˈæŋ strəm /

noun

(often initial capital letter)
  1. a unit of length, equal to one tenth of a millimicron, or one ten millionth of a millimeter, primarily used to express electromagnetic wavelengths. Å; A


Ångström 2 American  
[ang-struhm, awng-strœm] / ˈæŋ strəm, ˈɔŋ strœm /

noun

  1. Anders Jonas 1814–74, Swedish astronomer and physicist.


Ångström 1 British  
/ ˈæŋstrəm, ˈɔŋstrœm /

noun

  1. Anders Jonas (ˈandərs ˈjuːnas). 1814–74, Swedish physicist, noted for his work on spectroscopy and solar physics

"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

angstrom 2 British  
/ ˈæŋstrʌm, -strəm /

noun

  1.  Å.   A.  Also called: angstrom unit.  a unit of length equal to 10 –10 metre, used principally to express the wavelengths of electromagnetic radiations. It is equivalent to 0.1 nanometre

"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

Ångström 1 Scientific  
/ ăngstrəm /
  1. Swedish physicist and astronomer who pioneered the use of the spectroscope in the analysis of radiation. By studying the spectrum of visible light given off by the Sun, Ångström discovered that there is hydrogen in the Sun's atmosphere. The angstrom unit of measurement is named for him.


angstrom 2 Scientific  
/ ăngstrəm /
  1. A unit of length equal to one hundred-millionth (10 - 10) of a meter. It was once used to measure wavelengths of light and the diameters of atoms, but has now been mostly replaced by the nanometer.


Etymology

Origin of angstrom

First recorded in 1895–1900; named after A. J. Ångström ( def. )

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.

See Examples For:

The channels are built from proteins and contain extremely narrow regions at the angstrom scale.

From Science Daily Feb. 19, 2026

Note: The length unit angstrom, Å, is often used to represent atomic-scale dimensions and is equivalent to 10−10 m.

From Textbooks Feb. 14, 2019

An angstrom is the unit commonly used for the expression of atomic-scale dimensions.

From Textbooks Jan. 1, 2015

Use your normal speaking voice—don't speak slowly or strain to over-pronounce "angstrom."

From Slate Apr. 6, 2011

"In our own stellar system, the average shift is only a fraction of one angstrom."

From Time Magazine Archive

This technique can be used to improve the resolution of fluorescence microscopy down to the Ångström scale -- far below the classical diffraction limit of light.

From Science Daily Apr. 24, 2024

A. J. Ångström of Upsala takes rank after Kirchhoff as a subordinate founder, so to speak, of solar spectroscopy.

From A Popular History of Astronomy During the Nineteenth Century Fourth Edition by Clerke, Agnes M. (Agnes Mary)

The man who, in a published paper, came nearest to the philosophy of the subject was Ångström.

From Six Lectures on Light Delivered In The United States In 1872-1873 by Tyndall, John

In point of fact, Ångström was still, in 1853, divided between adsorption and interference as the mode of origin of the Fraunhofer dark rays.

From A Popular History of Astronomy During the Nineteenth Century Fourth Edition by Clerke, Agnes M. (Agnes Mary)

The discovery that hydrogen exists in the atmosphere of the sun was made by Ångström in 1862.

From A Popular History of Astronomy During the Nineteenth Century Fourth Edition by Clerke, Agnes M. (Agnes Mary)

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training