fifth force

Save This Word!

noun

a theoretical force in nature in addition to the strong and weak forces, gravitation, and the electromagnetic force.

QUIZ

SHALL WE PLAY A "SHALL" VS. "SHOULD" CHALLENGE?

Should you take this quiz on “shall” versus “should”? It should prove to be a quick challenge!

Question 1 of 6

Which form is used to state an obligation or duty someone has?

shall

should

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of fifth force

First recorded in 1975–80

Words nearby fifth force

Fifth Commandment, fifth cranial nerve, fifth dimension, fifth disease, fifth estate, fifth force, fifth-generation, fifthly, fifth monarchy, Fifth Monarchy Men, fifth position

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use fifth force in a sentence

But on Thursday Boxer triggered a Golden State political earthquake, announcing that she would not seek a fifth term in 2016.
The Golden State Preps for the ‘Red Wedding’ of Senate Races|David Freedlander|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yet for a vivid decade or so, sleaze was, somewhat paradoxically, a force for literacy and empowerment.
How Pulp Fiction Saved Literature|Wendy Smith|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Shortly after dawn, there was another outbreak of deadly force.
France Mourns—and Hunts|Nico Hines, Christopher Dickey|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And Air Force assessors are the first to say such imaging never tells the whole story.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War|Nancy A. Youssef|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Detectives with a fugitive task force caught up with Polanco and a friend on a Bronx street in the early afternoon.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown|Michael Daly|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The Goliath wouldn't answer; the Dublin said the force was coming off, and we could not get into touch with the soldiers at all.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
These Rules (leaving out the Tenor) serves for five bells; and leaving out the fifth and Tenor, they serve for four bells.
Tintinnalogia, or, the Art of Ringing|Richard Duckworth and Fabian Stedman
For this use of the voice in the special service of will-power, or propelling force, it is necessary first to test its freedom.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
But you are mistaken in thinking the force west consists of the entire Merrill Horse.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
After about the forty-fifth year it becomes gradually less; after seventy-five years it is about one-half the amount given.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd

British Dictionary definitions for fifth force

fifth force

noun

a hypothetical non-Newtonian repulsive component of the force of gravity, postulated as an addition to the four known fundamental forces (gravitational, electromagnetic, strong, and weak)

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

Scientific definitions for fifth force

fifth force

[ fĭfth ]

Any of various hypothetical, very weak forces thought to cause bodies to repel each other. Such forces are occasionally considered as a solution to unexpected deviations in the measured value of the gravitational constant or to explain the apparent acceleration of very distant galaxies away from earth.