quark

[ kwawrk, kwahrk ]

noun
  1. Physics. any of the hypothetical particles with spin 1/2, baryon number 1/3, and electric charge 1/3 or −2/3 that, together with their antiparticles, are believed to constitute all the elementary particles classed as baryons and mesons; they are distinguished by their flavors, designated as up (u), down (d), strange (s), charm (c), bottom or beauty (b), and top or truth (t), and their colors, red, green, and blue.: Compare color (def. 18), flavor (def. 5), quantum chromodynamics, quark model.

Origin of quark

1
Coined in 1963 by U.S. physicist Murray Gell-Mann (1929–2019), who associated it with a word in Joyce's Finnegans Wake, read variously as English quark croak and German Quark curd, (slang) rubbish, tripe

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How to use quark in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for quark (1 of 2)

quark1

/ (kwɑːk) /


noun
  1. physics any of a set of six hypothetical elementary particles together with their antiparticles thought to be fundamental units of all baryons and mesons but unable to exist in isolation. The magnitude of their charge is either two thirds or one third of that of the electron

Origin of quark

1
C20: coined by James Joyce in the novel Finnegans Wake, and given special application in physics

British Dictionary definitions for quark (2 of 2)

quark2

/ (kwɑːk) /


noun
  1. a type of low-fat soft cheese

Origin of quark

2
from German

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for quark

quark

[ kwôrk, kwärk ]


  1. Any of a group of elementary particles supposed to be the fundamental units that combine to make up the subatomic particles known as hadrons (baryons, such as neutrons and protons, and mesons). There are six different flavors (or types) of quark: up quark, down quark, top quark, bottom quark, charm quark, and strange quark. Quarks have fractional electric charges, such as 13 the charge of an electron. See Note at elementary particle. See Table at subatomic particle.

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