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.
Subatomic quantum fluctuations in the primordial cosmos would have been magnified to a macroscopic level, generating the presumably random distribution of hot and cold patches that later formed BAOs.
From Scientific American • Sep. 27, 2023
The pledge puts the Dutch proposal for Europe’s so-called Einstein Telescope ahead of rival bids, says Stan Bentvelsen, director of the Netherlands’s National Institute for Subatomic Physics and a leader of the Dutch proposal.
From Science Magazine • Apr. 19, 2022
Virgo had already been running on a minimal staff of less than a dozen people, says Virgo spokesperson Jo van den Brand, a physicist at the National Institute for Subatomic Physics in Amsterdam.
From Nature • Mar. 30, 2020
Subatomic particles in stars, like protons and electrons, bounce around at exceedingly fast speeds, depending on the mass and temperature of said star.
From Salon • Apr. 10, 2019
Subatomic investigators find neutrons elusive little things to deal with.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
