gravitational wave

American  

noun

Astronomy, Physics.

1. (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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gravitational wave British  

noun

1. physics another name for gravity wave

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Etymology

Origin of gravitational wave

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Upcoming galaxy surveys, cosmic microwave background studies, and gravitational wave detectors are reaching the sensitivity needed to examine ideas that were once purely theoretical.

From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 2026

Their approach improves the precision of earlier gravitational wave based techniques.

From Science Daily • Mar. 1, 2026

He and his collaborators think it is possible that future gravitational wave signals will not fully align with general relativity, offering clues to long-standing mysteries.

From Science Daily • Feb. 1, 2026

Collaborations such as the NANOGrav Physics Frontiers Center use pulsars to study the gravitational wave background, which can help researchers understand the early Universe and the prevalence of gravitational-wave sources such as supermassive black-hole binaries.

From Science Daily • Nov. 26, 2024

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