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Newton's cradle

British

noun

an ornamental puzzle consisting of a frame in which five metal balls are suspended in such a way that when one is moved it sets all the others in motion in turn

"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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As in a Newton's cradle, motion in this atomic system continues without fading.

From Science Daily • Jan. 7, 2026

The researchers explain this effect using an analogy to a Newton's cradle, the desktop device with a row of suspended metal balls.

From Science Daily • Jan. 7, 2026

But I remember we spoke of Hume, and his view that human identity was transmitted moment-to-moment, as motion is transferred from one ballbearing to the next in a Newton’s cradle.

From The Guardian • Sep. 4, 2015

Bowling balls fashioned into a gigantic Newton’s cradle.

From The Guardian • May 29, 2015

Thor’s flight is a souped-up version of Newton’s cradle or the billiard balls.

From Scientific American • Feb. 7, 2013

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