Jump To:

• 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

---

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

---

Example Sentences

They sit at the heart of how we interpret modern physics and quietly shape everything from how we understand general relativity to how we imagine time travel, multiverses and our origins.

From Science Daily • Jun. 8, 2026

While speculative extensions of physics — such as exotic forms of matter or modifications of general relativity — have been proposed to support such structures, they remain untested and highly conjectural.

From Science Daily • May 22, 2026

But those same analyses also made clear how speculative the idea was: within general relativity, such a journey is forbidden.

From Science Daily • May 22, 2026

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

However, it did not resolve the crucial question: Does general relativity predict that our universe should have had a big bang, a beginning of time?

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