subatomic
Americanadjective
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of or relating to a process that occurs within an atom.
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noting or pertaining to a particle or particles contained in an atom, as electrons, protons, or neutrons.
adjective
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of, relating to, or being a particle making up an atom or a process occurring within atoms
the electron is a subatomic particle
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having dimensions smaller than atomic dimensions
Etymology
Origin of subatomic
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.
Thinking at cosmic and subatomic scales requires plenty of math—or some visual metaphors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
For decades, the mystery of fundamental constants was mostly explored through black holes, stars, and subatomic particles.
From Science Daily ● May 8, 2026
Most qubits are subatomic particles, like electrons, that are put in “superposition,” or many states at once: a 1, a 0, and all values between the two.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026
Powerful systems like the System Two operate based on the principles of quantum mechanics, the science behind atoms, molecules, and subatomic particles.
From Barron's ● Dec. 10, 2025
This expressly decreed that nothing could outrace the speed of light and yet here were physicists insisting that, somehow, at the subatomic level, information could.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
