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gravitational wave

American

noun

Astronomy, Physics.

(in general relativity) a propagating wave of gravitational energy produced by accelerating masses, especially during catastrophic events, as the gravitational collapse of massive stars.

gravitational wave British

noun

physics another name for gravity wave

"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 gravitational wave

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

gravitational wave

As gravitational wave observatories continue to improve, scientists expect the pace of discoveries to accelerate even further.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 2, 2026

As the number of gravitational wave detections continues to grow, researchers can move beyond studying individual events and begin examining the broader population of black holes throughout the Universe.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 2, 2026

Beyond dramatically increasing the number of known gravitational wave events, GWTC-5 includes several observations that have set entirely new records for the field.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 2, 2026

Finding a gravitational wave involves much more than simply recording a signal.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 2, 2026

New observations in the next few years, particularly by gravitational wave detectors like LIGO, should enable us to discover the origin of the gamma ray bursts.

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

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