high-energy physics

American  

[hahy-en-er-jee] / ˈhaɪˈɛn ər dʒi /

noun

1. the branch of particle physics that deals with the collisions of particles accelerated to such high energies that new elementary particles are created by the collisions.

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high-energy physics British  

noun

1. another name for particle physics

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Etymology

Origin of high-energy physics

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

"As a rule, experiments in high-energy physics have different designs even if they have the same science goal. Joint analyses allow us to use complementary features of these designs."

From Science Daily • Oct. 30, 2025

High-energy physicists at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois—DOE’s only high-energy physics lab—are gearing up to build a massive neutrino experiment.

From Science Magazine • Aug. 9, 2022

As large-scale projects like LBNF/DUNE have ramped up over the last five years, Congress has increased the DOE’s overall budget for high-energy physics by nearly 30 percent.

From Scientific American • Apr. 13, 2022

The federal government has long backed major research projects like particle accelerators for high-energy physics in the 1960s and supercomputing centers in the 1980s.

From New York Times • Jun. 30, 2020

Nor could dispensers of government patronage merely weigh scientific projects against one another: the cost of high-energy physics had become so great that broader priorities were implicated.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik