proton
noun
pro·ton
| \ ˈprō-ˌtän
\
\
Definition of proton
: an elementary particle that is identical with the nucleus of the hydrogen atom, that along with the neutron is a constituent of all other atomic nuclei, that carries a positive charge numerically equal to the charge of an electron, and that has a mass of 1.673 × 10−27 kilogram
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Other Words from proton
protonic
\ prō-ˈtä-nik
\
adjective
\
adjective
Examples of proton in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This nucleus is made up of even tinier particles called protons and neutrons. — Nandita Jayaraj, Quartz India, "Meet Indumathi, the Indian scientist who wants to capture one of the universe’s smallest particles," 27 Aug. 2019 Hundreds of billions of protons and antiprotons were accelerated close to the speed of light and then smashed together. — Quanta Magazine, "A Call for Courage as Physicists Confront Collider Dilemma," 7 Aug. 2019 Fermions include electrons and the quarks that are the constituents of protons and neutrons in atomic nuclei. — Philip Ball, Scientific American, "Supergravity Snags Super Award: $3-Million Special Breakthrough Prize," 6 Aug. 2019 Atomic nuclei are made of protons and neutrons, known collectively as nucleons. — The Economist, "Who did the Maya sacrifice?," 1 Aug. 2019 Physicists use it to predict the likelihood of a neutron decaying into a proton in a radioactive material. — Sophia Chen, WIRED, "Why Big Banks Could Soon Jump on the Quantum Bandwagon," 26 July 2019 Most of the uranium atoms found in nature are U-238, an isotope with 92 protons and 146 neutrons. — Stephanie Demarco, latimes.com, "210,000-year-old skull in Greece is earliest sign of modern humans in Europe or Asia," 10 July 2019 Pentaquarks are heavier cousins of protons and neutrons, which are also made of quarks. — Adrian Cho, Science | AAAS, "Exotic particles called pentaquarks may be less weird than previously thought," 5 June 2019 The number of protons defines the element to which an atom belongs, but the number of neutrons may vary, the variants being known as isotopes. — The Economist, "Who did the Maya sacrifice?," 1 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'proton.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for proton
proton
noun
English Language Learners Definition of proton
physics
: a very small particle of matter that is part of the nucleus of an atom and that has a positive electrical charge
See the full definition for proton in the English Language Learners Dictionary
proton
noun
pro·ton
| \ ˈprō-ˌtän
\
\
Kids Definition of proton
: a very small particle that exists in the nucleus of every atom and has a positive charge of electricity
proton
noun
pro·ton
| \ ˈprō-ˌtän
\
\
Medical Definition of proton
: an elementary particle that is identical with the nucleus of the hydrogen atom, that along with neutrons is a constituent of all other atomic nuclei, that carries a positive charge numerically equal to the charge of an electron, and that has a mass of 1.673×10−24 gram
Other Words from proton
protonic
\ prō-ˈtän-ik
\
adjective
\
adjective
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