fermion
Americannoun
noun
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An elementary or composite particle, such as an electron, quark, or proton, whose spin is an integer multiple of 1/2. Fermions act on each other by exchanging bosons and are subject to the Pauli exclusion principle, which requires that no two fermions be in the same quantum state. Fermions are named after the physicist Enrico Fermi, who along with Paul Dirac developed quantum statistical models of their behavior.
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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.
The paper claimed the first discovery of a Majorana fermion, a theoretical particle central to the tech giant’s quantum computing effort.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
"It's amazing that Posey and the Roy lab could make a heavy fermion so small and thin," said senior author Abhay Pasupathy, a physicist at Columbia and Brookhaven National Laboratory.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 17, 2024
Supersymmetry hypothesizes an as-yet-undiscovered boson partner for every fermion, and a fermion partner for each boson.
From New York Times ● May 8, 2023
Physicists are also reassessing particle flavor, a quantum property that defines the species of fermion: up quark, down quark, electron, muon, and so on.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 8, 2022
Massive Dirac fermion on the surface of a magnetically doped topological insulator.
From Nature ● Mar. 18, 2018
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
