rheology

American  

[ree-ol-uh-jee] / riˈɒl ə dʒi /

noun

1. the study of the deformation and flow of matter.

---

rheology British  

/ rɪˈɒlədʒɪ, ˌriːəˈlɒdʒɪkəl /

noun

1. the branch of physics concerned with the flow and change of shape of matter

---

Other Word Forms

• rheologic adjective
• rheological adjective
• rheologist noun

Etymology

Origin of rheology

First recorded in 1925–30; rheo- + -logy

Example Sentences

During an extensional rheology test -- which measures how much force is needed to make a liquid flow -- the researchers observed something unusual.

From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 2026

Le Losq, C. & Neuville, D. R. Effect of the Na/K mixing on the structure and the rheology of tectosilicate silica-rich melts.

From Nature • Dec. 12, 2017

Kolzenburg, S., Giordano, D., Cimarelli, C. & Dingwell, D. B. In situ thermal characterization of cooling/crystallizing lavas during rheology measurements and implications for lava flow emplacement.

From Nature • Dec. 12, 2017

Asking the question of whether cats were a liquid allowed me to illustrate the use of these dimensionless numbers in rheology.

From Slate • Nov. 9, 2017

In rheology, this is called the relaxation time.

From Slate • Nov. 9, 2017