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• general relativity
  general relativity

  noun

  relativity2
• General Relativity
  General Relativity

  A geometrical theory of gravity developed by Albert Einstein in which gravity's effects are a consequence of the curvature of four-dimensional space-time. According to this theory, the energy and momentum of all matter and radiation cause curvature in space-time, in a way similar to the creation of electric and magnetic fields by electric charges and currents. This curvature also opens the possibility that the universe is closed, having finite volume but without any boundary. Among the many experimentally confirmed consequences of General Relativity are the perihelion precession of the planet Mercury, the bending of light in a gravitational field, and the slowing of time in a gravitational field.

general relativity

American  

noun

1. Physics. relativity2

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General Relativity Scientific  

/ jĕn′ər-əl /

1. A geometrical theory of gravity developed by Albert Einstein in which gravity's effects are a consequence of the curvature of four-dimensional space-time. According to this theory, the energy and momentum of all matter and radiation cause curvature in space-time, in a way similar to the creation of electric and magnetic fields by electric charges and currents. This curvature also opens the possibility that the universe is closed, having finite volume but without any boundary. Among the many experimentally confirmed consequences of General Relativity are the perihelion precession of the planet Mercury, the bending of light in a gravitational field, and the slowing of time in a gravitational field.

2. See also closed universe equivalence principle Special Relativity

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Example Sentences

Proposed by Albert Einstein in 1915, general relativity describes gravity as the bending of spacetime by mass, similar to how a heavy object distorts a stretched surface.

From Science Daily • Apr. 19, 2026

According to the analysis by Mitman and his colleagues, the signal behaves exactly as general relativity predicts.

From Science Daily • Feb. 1, 2026

It is the clearest gravitational wave signal ever recorded from a pair of merging black holes, giving researchers an unusually sharp tool for testing Albert Einstein's theory of gravity, called general relativity.

From Science Daily • Feb. 1, 2026

"If those two measurements agree with one another, you are effectively verifying general relativity," Mitman said.

From Science Daily • Feb. 1, 2026

In 1935, Einstein and Nathan Rosen wrote a paper in which they showed that general relativity allowed what they called “bridges,” but which are now known as wormholes.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking