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• newton
  newton

  noun

  the standard unit of force in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the force that produces an acceleration of one meter per second per second on a mass of one kilogram. N
• Newton
  Newton

  noun

  Sir Isaac, 1642–1727, English philosopher and mathematician: formulator of the law of gravitation.

newton

¹ American  

[noot-n, nyoot-n] / ˈnut n, ˈnjut n /

noun

Physics.

newtons plural

1. the standard unit of force in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the force that produces an acceleration of one meter per second per second on a mass of one kilogram. N

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Newton ² American  

[noot-n, nyoot-n] / ˈnut n, ˈnjut n /

noun

1. Sir Isaac, 1642–1727, English philosopher and mathematician: formulator of the law of gravitation.

2. a city in eastern Massachusetts, near Boston.

3. a city in central Kansas.

4. a city in central Iowa, east of Des Moines.

5. a male given name: a family name taken from a placename meaning “new town.”

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Newton ¹ British  

/ ˈnjuːtən /

noun

1. one of the deepest craters on the moon, over 7300 m deep and about 112 km in diameter, situated in the SE quadrant

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Newton ² British  

/ ˈnjuːtən /

noun

1. Sir Isaac . 1642–1727, English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, and philosopher, noted particularly for his law of gravitation, his three laws of motion, his theory that light is composed of corpuscles, and his development of calculus independently of Leibnitz. His works include Principia Mathematica (1687) and Opticks (1704)

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newton ³ British  

/ ˈnjuːtən /

noun

1.  N.  the derived SI unit of force that imparts an acceleration of 1 metre per second to a mass of 1 kilogram; equivalent to 10 ⁵ dynes or 7.233 poundals

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newton ¹ Scientific  

/ no̅o̅t′n /

1. The SI derived unit used to measure force. One newton is equal to the force needed to accelerate a mass of one kilogram one meter per second per second.

2. See also joule

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Newton ² Scientific  

1. English mathematician and scientist. He invented a form of calculus and formulated principles of physics that remained basically unchallenged until the work of Albert Einstein, including the law of universal gravitation, a theory of the nature of light, and three laws of motion. His treatise on gravitation, presented in Principia Mathematica (1687), was in his own account inspired by the sight of a falling apple.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• newtons
  plural

Etymology

Origin of newton

First recorded in 1900–05; after I. Newton

Explanation

A newton is a unit of force that will accelerate one kilogram of mass one meter per second squared. Just as meters measure distance, newtons measure force. The newton is named for Isaac Newton, the famous physicist. This can help you remember that newton is an important term in physics. For the International System of Units, the newton is a unit of force that could give one kilogram of mass a specific amount of acceleration: one meter per second per second. You can also say a newton is equal to the force of 100,000 dynes. Using newtons makes measuring forces, such as gravity, simpler and easier.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

newton Newton newtons

They found the force in a realistic experiment would be about 10–16 newton.

From Scientific American ● Apr. 29, 2023

This new configuration now delivers a top speed of 19 mph, with 32 newton meters of torque, enabling a rider of up to 200lbs to cruise up steep hills with ease.

From The Verge ● Jan. 7, 2020

In work published last year in Physical Review A, his team showed that the apparatus can detect forces of a few billionths of a trillionth of a newton.

From Economist ● Jan. 26, 2017

The average rate of change is newton per centimeter.

From Textbooks ● Feb. 13, 2015

Life is that half minute in the morning before your cat remembers she’s kind of a grouch, when she pours out her love and doesn’t give a flying newton who sees it.

From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead

"And every time that happens, the star gets a little kick in the opposite direction. Like Newton said, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026

Cam Newton, the former Carolina Panthers quarterback who made regular appearances on ESPN’s “First Take,” was also let go.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

He was arrested in Newton Abbot, a town roughly 10 miles from Haytor.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

For example, Newton Consulting, a management consulting firm that books roughly $250 million to $300 million in annual revenue, has had all of its fees tied to operational outcomes since forming in 2001.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

Sir Fig Newton wore every sign of this illness.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

At the top end, this comes out at about 33,000 newtons.

From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2023

The robot's actuators are capable of reaching 9.5 newtons of force, compared to approximately 0.2 newtons for those of other similarly sized robots.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2023

Collectively, these generate 22.8m newtons of thrust—about as much as eighteen 747 jetliners.

From Economist ● Jan. 18, 2018

There’s a protocol for everything: the angle of the cadavers’ knees, the position of their hands on their thighs, the newtons of force with which their boots are laced.

From New York Times ● May 30, 2016

We thought we had one once and watched it most all day but it turned out to be just a little shack where they sell fig newtons and lemon pop to the fellos.

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