particle

[ pahr-ti-kuhl ]

/ ˈpɑr tɪ kəl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR particle ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a minute portion, piece, fragment, or amount; a tiny or very small bit: a particle of dust; not a particle of supporting evidence.

Physics.

one of the extremely small constituents of matter, as an atom or nucleus.
an elementary particle, quark, or gluon.
a body in which the internal motion is negligible.

a clause or article, as of a document.

Grammar.

(in some languages) one of the major form classes, or parts of speech, consisting of words that are neither nouns nor verbs, or of all uninflected words, or the like.
such a word.
a small word of functional or relational use, as an article, preposition, or conjunction, whether of a separate form class or not.

Roman Catholic Church. a small piece of the Host given to each lay communicant in a Eucharistic service.

Nearby words

participation, participatory democracy, participial, participialize, participle, particle, particle accelerator, particle beam, particle beam weapon, particle board, particle physics

Origin of particle

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Latin word particula. See part, -i-, -cle¹

SYNONYMS FOR particle

1 mite, whit, iota, jot, tittle, grain, speck.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR particle ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

par·ti·cled, adjectivein·ter·par·ti·cle, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for particle

When the Higgs particle was discovered, everywhere I went I heard people wondering about its significance.
The New 'Cosmos' Reboot Marks a Promising New Era for Science|Lawrence M. Krauss|March 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After episodes of not-so-subtly mentioning the particle accelerator at S.T.A.R Labs, we finally get what we want.
Arrow ‘Three Ghosts’ Recap: Here Comes The Flash!|Chancellor Agard|December 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
After eight episodes of not-so-subtly mentioning the particle accelerator at S.T.A.R Labs, we finally get what we want.
Arrow ‘Three Ghosts’ Recap: Here Comes The Flash!|Chancellor Agard|December 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
For 50 years, scientists had predicted the existence of the particle we now know as Higgs boson, which gives mass to matter.
Give It Up for the Other Nobel Prize Winners|Nina Strochlic|October 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Instead, Davis said with a hearty chuckle, “Marshall gave me a book on particle physics to read overnight.”
The Original Gone Girls: Dorothy Salisbury Davis and Other Forgotten Pioneers of Crime Fiction|Sarah Weinman|August 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
There was not one particle of desire for evil left in my soul.
Gospel Doctrine|Joseph F. Smith
It's the last folly ever to care, in an anxious way, the least particle more than one is absolutely forced.
The Golden Bowl|Henry James
Strain it off clear, and when cold take off every particle of fat.
The Lady's Own Cookery Book, and New Dinner-Table Directory;|Charlotte Campbell Bury
He merely mentioned that Sylvia was to be spared every particle of "painful knowledge."
Sylvia's Marriage|Upton Sinclair
But the good old lady did not look a particle amazed, much to Dorothy's surprise.
Pretty Madcap Dorothy|Laura Jean Libbey

British Dictionary definitions for particle

particle

/ (ˈpɑːtɪkəl) /

noun

an extremely small piece of matter; speck

a very tiny amount; iotait doesn't make a particle of difference

a function word, esp (in certain languages) a word belonging to an uninflected class having suprasegmental or grammatical functionthe Greek particles ``mēn'' and ``de'' are used to express contrast; questions in Japanese are indicated by the particle ``ka''; English ``up'' is sometimes regarded as an adverbial particle

a common affix, such as re-, un-, or -ness

physics a body with finite mass that can be treated as having negligible size, and internal structure

See elementary particle

RC Church a small piece broken off from the Host at Mass

archaic a section or clause of a document

Word Origin for particle

C14: from Latin particula a small part, from pars part

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