CERN

European Laboratory for Particle Physics; formerly called European Organization for Nuclear Research: an international research organization based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Origin of CERN

< French, for C(onseil) e(uropéen pour la) r(echerche) n(ucléaire)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cern

Contemporary Examples of cern

That boxy, black desktop, which cost CERN around $10,000 at the time, has spawned a sprawling and largely unregulated universe.
World Wide Web Turns 25
Nico Hines
March 12, 2014
In July 2012, headlines screamed of the possible discovery of the “God particle” by scientists at CERN.
Give It Up for the Other Nobel Prize Winners
Nina Strochlic
October 12, 2013
Correction: An original version of this article stated that CERN was on the east side of Geneva.
The Higgs Boson: Why You Should Care
Daniel Stone
July 6, 2012
Unlike the CERN researchers I do not “sweat the small stuff”.
God: Great Job On Finding My Particle!
God, David Javerbaum
July 6, 2012

British Dictionary definitions for cern

CERN

n acronym for

Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire; an organization of European states with a centre in Geneva for research in high-energy particle physics, now called the European Laboratory for Particle 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

cern in Culture

CERN

An acronym for French words meaning European Center for Nuclear Research. Supported by a consortium of European countries, CERN is an advanced scientific research institute in Geneva, Switzerland. It is one of the premier locations for particle physics research.

Note

After the year 2007, CERN will be the location of the world's largest particle accelerator.