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• Rutherford
  Rutherford

  noun

  Daniel, 1749–1819, Scottish physician and chemist: discoverer of nitrogen.
• rutherford
  rutherford

  noun

  a unit of activity equal to the quantity of a radioactive nuclide required to produce one million disintegrations per second

Rutherford

American  

[ruhth-er-ferd, ruhth-] / ˈrʌð ər fərd, ˈrʌθ- /

noun

1. Daniel, 1749–1819, Scottish physician and chemist: discoverer of nitrogen.

2. Ernest 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, 1871–1937, English physicist, born in New Zealand: Nobel Prize in chemistry 1908.

3. John Sherman Johnny, born 1938, U.S. racing-car driver.

4. Joseph Franklin, 1869–1942, U.S. leader of Jehovah's Witnesses.

5. Dame Margaret, 1892–1972, British actress.

6. a city in NE New Jersey.

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rutherford ¹ British  

/ ˈrʌðəfəd /

noun

1.  rd.  a unit of activity equal to the quantity of a radioactive nuclide required to produce one million disintegrations per second

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Rutherford ² British  

/ ˈrʌðəfəd /

noun

1. Ernest , 1st Baron. 1871–1937, British physicist, born in New Zealand, who discovered the atomic nucleus (1909). Nobel prize for chemistry 1908

2. Dame Margaret . 1892–1972, British stage and screen actress. Her films include Passport to Pimlico (1949), Murder She Said (1962), and The VIPs (1963)

3. Mark , original name William Hale White . 1831–1913, British novelist and writer, whose work deals with his religious uncertainties: best known for The Autobiography of Mark Rutherford (1881) and the novel The Revolution in Tanner's Lane (1887)

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Rutherford Scientific  

/ rŭth′ər-fərd /

1. New Zealand-born British physicist who was a pioneer of subatomic physics. He discovered the atomic nucleus and named the proton. Rutherford demonstrated that radioactive elements give off three types of rays, which he named alpha, beta, and gamma, and invented the term half-life to measure the rate of radioactive decay. For this work he was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1908.

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Etymology

Origin of rutherford

C20: named after Ernest _Rutherford

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Rutherford

They will meet on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J., in the World Cup final.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

The sky above the open-air stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., was noticeably clearer Friday and could improve even more with the heavy rains forecast for Saturday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

This one, ordinarily known as the MetLife, has more than 78,000 seats in the district of East Rutherford.

From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026

CARLSTADT, N.J.—The breakfast buffet at the SpringHill Suites East Rutherford serves packaged waffles and warns guests not to butter bread before putting it in the toaster.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026

The kernel, Rutherford concluded, was the atomic nucleus.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik