particle

American  

[pahr-ti-kuhl] / ˈpɑr tɪ kəl /

noun

• particles
  plural

1. a minute portion, piece, fragment, or amount; a tiny or very small bit.

   a particle of dust; not a particle of supporting evidence.

   Synonyms:

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

2. 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.

3. a clause or article, as of a document.

4. 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.

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

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particle British  

/ ˈpɑːtɪkəl /

noun

1. an extremely small piece of matter; speck

2. a very tiny amount; iota

   it doesn't make a particle of difference

3. a function word, esp (in certain languages) a word belonging to an uninflected class having suprasegmental or grammatical function

   the 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

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

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

6. See elementary particle

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

8. archaic a section or clause of a document

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particle Scientific  

/ pär′tĭ-kəl /

1. A very small piece of solid matter.

2. An elementary particle, subatomic particle, or atomic nucleus.

3. Also called corpuscle

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interparticle
  adjective
• particled
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• particles
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of particle

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Latin word particula. See part, -i-, -cle ¹

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Explanation

A particle is a small piece of anything. Particle can also refer to a subatomic particle with mass and structure, but takes up hardly any space at all. Particles are tiny. If you mean a subatomic particle, that's a body that you can't see because it is so incredibly small, though it does have a miniscule mass and internal structure. These particles are even smaller than atoms. You can also say a crumb or speck of something is a particle. Dust particles are piling up all the time, and vacuuming cleans up lots of particles. Those particles are little bits of things. In both cases, particles are very tiny.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

particle particles

When the researchers ran their simulation without magnetic flux, the particle could tunnel freely around the loop.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026

This interference completely suppressed the tunneling, leaving the simulated particle frozen in its original state.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026

The Belgian particle physicist helped build an observatory deep in the Antarctic ice.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Belgian particle physicist Francis Halzen was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to astronomy and his work on the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Not one particle of the heavy stuff so vital to our own being–carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and all the rest–emerged from the gaseous brew of creation.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Researchers have previously investigated both temporary blocking agents and permanent microscopic particles.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

Rather than replacing the damaged joint, doctors use a thin catheter to deliver microscopic particles directly into specific blood vessels.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

Tiny particles are then injected to block selected vessels, with the goal of reducing inflammation and pain.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

Other potential uses include manipulating microscopic particles, cells, and molecules with light, as well as developing more resilient quantum systems.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026

The blast also created radioactive atoms—atoms with unstable nuclei that break apart, ejecting particles and rays as they decay.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

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Related Words

• fleck
• fragment
• grain
• mite
• molecule
• ray
• speck

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