strangeness
Americannoun
-
the quality or condition of being strange.
-
Physics. a quantum number assigned the value −1 for one kind of quark, +1 for its antiquark, and 0 for all other quarks; the strangeness of a hadron is the sum of the values for the strangeness of its constituent quarks and antiquarks. S
noun
-
the state or quality of being strange
-
physics a property of certain elementary particles, characterized by a quantum number ( strangeness number ) conserved in strong and electromagnetic but not in weak interactions. It is associated with the presence of strange quarks
-
The property of containing a strange quark or antiquark. Strangeness is expressed in terms of an integer quantum number, −1 for each strange quark and +1 for each strange antiquark. Hadrons that possess strangeness are called strange. The total strangeness of a quantum system is unchanged by decay processes involving the strong or electromagnetic forces; however, decay through the weak force can change the total strangeness of the system.
-
See also baryon number isospin
Etymology
Origin of strangeness
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; strange, -ness
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.
Some species and populations take this strangeness even further by producing seeds without fertilization -- a reproductive strategy that is extremely rare among plants.
From Science Daily • Dec. 20, 2025
In this account of life with a wild creature—a being by turns serene and frisky, trusting and standoffish—Ms. Dalton connects readers with the strangeness of the natural world.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 3, 2025
The fact that Ammonite has a completely different orbit from the other sednoids has left astronomers puzzling over the diversity and strangeness of the outer Solar System.
From Space Scoop • Jul. 31, 2025
"I think one of the reasons people resonate with the Addams family so much is their strangeness," Ortega reflects.
From BBC • Jul. 30, 2025
There’s this strangeness, like when you accidentally turn one street too early, and, because all of the cookie-cutter houses look the same, you feel as if you’re in a parallel universe.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
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.
