gravitational wave

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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.

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Also called gravity wave.

Origin of gravitational wave

First recorded in 1895–1900

Words nearby gravitational wave

gravitational interaction, gravitational lens, gravitational mass, gravitational radius, gravitational redshift, gravitational wave, gravitative, gravitino, graviton, gravitropism, gravity

How to use gravitational wave in a sentence

The gravitational waves produced by the merger took 7 billion years to reach us.
Readers ask about shrinking toads, defining distance in an expanding universe and more|Science News Staff|February 7, 2021|Science News
Beginning in the 1950s, when others were still arguing whether gravitational waves existed in reality, physicist Joseph Weber sunk his career into trying to detect them.
Einstein’s theory of general relativity unveiled a dynamic and bizarre cosmos|Elizabeth Quill|February 3, 2021|Science News
Peter and Sharon rented a house with a big avocado tree when they moved to California, in 2008, for Peter’s dream postdoc studying gravitational waves at CalTech.
The Climate Crisis Is Worse Than You Can Imagine. Here’s What Happens If You Try.|by Elizabeth Weil|January 25, 2021|ProPublica
The more distant a collision is from Earth, the longer it takes the gravitational waves to arrive.
Explore every gravitational wave event spotted so far|Nadieh Bremer|January 21, 2021|Science News

The main focus of my career has been the detection of gravitational waves.
Helping scientists succeed|Katie McLean|December 18, 2020|MIT Technology Review

British Dictionary definitions for gravitational wave

gravitational wave

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