atom smasher

British  

noun

1. physics the nontechnical name for accelerator

---

atom smasher Scientific  

1. See particle accelerator

---

Example Sentences

Officials say they’re on board with standing up the atom smasher, but caution the plan hasn’t been formally approved.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 7, 2025

Rachel Hirleman, whose house backs up to the atom smasher, said she’d like to see the land redeveloped but has enjoyed watching the seasons change around it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 7, 2025

In such a universe, a black hole appearing inside an atom smasher becomes much more feasible, potentially revealing insights into the very nature of gravity.

From Scientific American • Feb. 14, 2023

Or, if physicists are lucky, the world’s biggest atom smasher, Europe’s Large Hadron Collider, will blast some new particle into plain view when it comes back online next spring after 3 years of upgrades.

From Science Magazine • Dec. 15, 2021

Eventually two other Cavendish scientists invented a more powerful proton-beam device, while in California Ernest Lawrence at Berkeley produced his famous and impressive cyclotron, or atom smasher, as such devices were long excitingly known.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson