physics
Americannoun
noun
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the branch of science concerned with the properties of matter and energy and the relationships between them. It is based on mathematics and traditionally includes mechanics, optics, electricity and magnetism, acoustics, and heat. Modern physics, based on quantum theory, includes atomic, nuclear, particle, and solid-state studies. It can also embrace applied fields such as geophysics and meteorology
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physical properties of behaviour
the physics of the electron
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archaic natural science or natural philosophy
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The scientific study of matter, energy, space, and time, and of the relations between them.
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The behavior of a given physical system, especially as understood by a physical theory.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of physics
Compare meaning
How does physics compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Physics is a kind of science, specifically the science of matter and energy and how they interact. Physics is the study of physical matter, energy, and how they work together. Kinetic energy and potential energy are part of physics. Although it may sound really advanced — and it is — physics is involved in everything we do. Champion pool players have a good understanding of how physics influences the movement of the balls. People who design roller coasters better know their physics. And if you've ever rigged up a pulley or a lever, then you've done basic physics.
Vocabulary lists containing physics
Albert Einstein
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A Brief History of Time
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"Roller Girl" by Victoria Jamieson
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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.
Wrestling with the physics of a school bus-sized prop was a way for the filmmakers—and thus the audience—to experience something closer to a real world, van Hoytema said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Doing this at the age of 39 is almost defying the law of physics.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Linda Losurdo, a PhD candidate in materials and plasma physics in the School of Physics, combined nitrogen, carbon dioxide and acetylene to simulate the energetic conditions found near stars and supernova remnants.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026
The technology uses quantum physics to perform calculations that today’s computers can’t even approach.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
Physicist Marc Millis heads NASA's Breakthrough Propulsion Project and hopes to overcome this problem with the physics of zero.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
