state of matter

American  

[stayt-uhv mat-er] / ˈsteɪt əv ˈmæt ər /

noun

states of matter plural

1. Physical Chemistry. any of the phases, including solid, liquid, gas, plasma, and others, in which a substance can occur.

---

state of matter Scientific  

/ stāt /

1. One of the four principal conditions in which matter exists—solid, liquid, gas, and plasma.

2. See also phase phase transition

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• states of matter
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

state of matter

Microsoft's approach to quantum computing is equally strange: it is based on a 90-year-old physics theory and involves a state of matter which is neither liquid, solid nor gas.

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

To do this it had to exploit a novel state of matter - different from the three familiar states of liquid, solid or gas.

From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2026

Instead of freezing, it transforms from a normal gas into a superfluid, a rare state of matter that flows without any resistance and displays strange behaviors, including creeping up the sides of containers.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 5, 2026

"We're able to mimic experimental findings via our theoretical understanding of the state of matter," Kumar said.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 17, 2025

The normal, predictable state of matter throughout the universe is randomness, a relaxed sort of equilibrium, with atoms and their particles scattered around in an amorphous muddle.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas