gravitational field

American  

noun

Physics.

1. the attractive effect, considered as extending throughout space, of matter on other matter.

2. the region surrounding an astronomical body in which the force of gravitation is strong.

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gravitational field British  

noun

1. the field of force surrounding a body of finite mass in which another body would experience an attractive force that is proportional to the product of the masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them

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Etymology

Origin of gravitational field

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gravitational field

Kinsella noted that the company is working on a larger program with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory that aims to fly the first-ever quantum sensor for measuring Earth’s gravitational field in orbit.

From Barron's ● May 20, 2026

"Light doesn't travel in a straight line in a gravitational field because space itself is curved," he said.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 28, 2026

Because of the different gravitational field strength on the Moon, time moves quicker there relative to Earth - 58.7 microseconds every day.

From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2024

According to the so-called equivalence principle, in a gravitational field all objects fall at the same rate regardless of what they’re made of.

From Science Magazine ● Sep. 27, 2023

Thus if light cannot escape, neither can anything else; everything is dragged back by the gravitational field.

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