any of a class of elementary particles that have a mass greater than or equal to that of the proton, participate in strong interactions, and have a spin of 1/2 . Baryons are either nucleons or hyperons. The baryon number is the number of baryons in a system minus the number of antibaryons
Any of a family of subatomic particles composed of three quarks or three antiquarks. They are generally more massive than mesons, and interact with each other via the strong force. Baryons form a subclass of hadrons and are subdivided into nucleons and hyperons. Protons and neutrons are baryons. See Table at subatomic particle.