pentaquark

British

/ ˈpɛntəˌkwɑːk /

noun

physics a postulated subatomic particle consisting of four quarks and one antiquark, thought not to exist in actuality

"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

Etymology

Origin of pentaquark

C21

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.

Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland have discovered one new pentaquark and two tetraquarks.

From BBC • Jul. 5, 2022

The new pentaquark decays into particles that none of the others produce, while the two tetraquarks have the same mass, suggesting they may be the first known pair of exotic structures.

From BBC • Jul. 5, 2022

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