exciton

American

[ik-sahy-ton, ek-si-ton] / ɪkˈsaɪ tɒn, ˈɛk sɪˌtɒn /

noun

Physics.

a localized, mobile excited state of a crystal, consisting of an electron and a hole bound together.

exciton British

/ ˈɛksaɪˌtɒn /

noun

a mobile neutral entity in a crystalline solid consisting of an excited electron bound to the hole produced by its excitation

"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

Etymology

Origin of exciton

1935–40; excit(ed) or excit(ation) + -on ¹

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:

exciton

Under normal conditions, each photon produces only one spin-singlet exciton after excitation.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 28, 2026

"Observing an insulating phase that melts into a superfluid is unprecedented. This strongly suggests that the low-temperature phase is a highly unusual exciton solid."

From Science Daily ● Feb. 5, 2026

During this process, light is absorbed by the material and its energy is handed around amongst the material's molecules as a so-called "triplet exciton."

From Science Daily ● Mar. 13, 2024

"This acceptor-bound exciton structure yielded two triplets separated by a spin-orbit splitting of 14.3 meV, supporting the hypothesis."

From Science Daily ● Feb. 27, 2024

In its research, the team made a surprising discovery: it found that certain defects to the system, introduced strategically, would improve exciton transfer rather than impede it.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 27, 2024

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023