Planck

American  

[plahngk] / plɑŋk /

noun

1. Max Karl Ernst 1858–1947, German physicist: Nobel Prize 1918.

---

Planck British  

/ plaŋk, plæŋk /

noun

1. Max ( Karl Ernst Ludwig ) (maks). 1858–1947, German physicist who first formulated the quantum theory (1900): Nobel prize for physics 1918

---

Planck Scientific  

/ plängk /

1. German physicist who in 1900 formulated quantum theory, which explained and predicted certain phenomena that could not be accounted for in classical physics. Planck's theory was essential to the work of Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, and many other modern physicists. In 1918 he won the Nobel Prize for physics.

---

Example Sentences

The result is one of the first major outcomes from the collaboration between the S/Y Eugen Seibold research vessel from the Max Planck Institute and STRI.

From Science Daily • Apr. 26, 2026

It will draw on decades of work done by Germany's Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics and its stellarator the W7-X.

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026

"The days when a college degree guaranteed a good job are gone, and graduates now face immense employment pressure," says Xiang Biao, director of Germany-based Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology.

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026

"Even small changes in their environment can make them suspicious," said Loretto, who is at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, and began the research at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior.

From Barron's • Mar. 12, 2026

We were about to enter the quantum age, and the first person to push on the door was the so-far unfortunate Max Planck.

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