particle

[ pahr-ti-kuhl ]
/ ˈpɑr tɪ kəl /
SEE 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.
  1. one of the extremely small constituents of matter, as an atom or nucleus.
  2. an elementary particle, quark, or gluon.
  3. a body in which the internal motion is negligible.
a clause or article, as of a document.
Grammar.
  1. (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.
  2. such a word.
  3. 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.

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well-being, prosperity, or happiness.
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Origin of particle

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

OTHER WORDS FROM particle

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

Words nearby particle

participation, participatory democracy, participial, participialize, participle, particle, particle accelerator, particle beam, particle beam weapon, particle board, particle physics
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to particle

speck, fragment, molecule, grain, fleck, mite, ray, iota, crumb, mote, whit, minim, scrap, drop, spot, hoot, morsel, scruple, modicum, seed

Example sentences from the Web for particle

British Dictionary definitions for particle

particle
/ (ˈpɑːtɪkəl) /

noun

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

Medical definitions for particle

particle
[ pär′tĭ-kəl ]

n.

A very small piece or part.
An elementary particle.
A subatomic particle.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Scientific definitions for particle

particle
[ pär′tĭ-kəl ]

A very small piece of solid matter.
An elementary particle, subatomic particle, or atomic nucleus. Also called corpuscle
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.