gravitational wave
Syllables: gra·vi·ta·tion·al wave/ˌɡɹæ.vəˈteɪ.ʃə.nəl weɪv/
gravitational wave noun: a fluctuation in spacetime caused by accelerating mass, which propagates as a wave at the speed of light.
Noun
gravitational wave (plural gravitational waves)
- A fluctuation in spacetime caused by accelerating mass, which propagates as a wave at the speed of light.
- It is therefore apparent that the existence of gravitational waves can be deduced from general relativity just as the existence of electromagnetic waves can be deduced from Maxwell's theory.1941, Leopold Infeld, Quest: The Evolution of a Scientist, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, Doran & Co., →OCLC, page 261
- It might be anticipated that a pulsating star, such as a Cepheid is believed to be, would emit gravitational waves abundantly; but when the question is examined analytically, this expectation is not confirmed.1949, Edmund [Taylor] Whittaker, From Euclid to Eddington: A Study of Conceptions of the External World, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →OCLC, page 119
- Synonyms:
- GW
- A gravity wave.
- These layers also permit visual observation of the well-known "gravitational waves," which were suggested by Helmholtz and have been investigated theoretically at some length. It is frequently suggested that these atmospheric waves may be connected with signal fading.1951, Donald E. Kerr, editor, Propagation of Short Radio Waves [IEE Electromagnetic Waves Series; 24], London: Peter Peregrinus Ltd on behalf of The Institution of Electrical Engineers, →ISBN, page...
- It is difficult to see whether a sufficient amount of energy is communicated to the sea by the air masses directly in the form of compressional waves or it is transmitted or increased by the action of gravitational waves.1953, J[ohan] G[erard Jozef] Scholte, “On Theories of the Origin of Microseisms”, in James T. Wilson, editor, Symposium on Microseisms: Held at Arden House Harriman N.Y. 4–6 September 1952...
gravitational wave meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
gravitational wave in Hindi
- fluctuation in spacetime that propagates as a wave at the speed of light
- गुरुत्वीय तरंग gurutvīya taraṅg
gravitational wave in Tamil
- fluctuation in spacetime that propagates as a wave at the speed of light
- ஈர்ப்பு அலை īrppu alai
gravitational wave in Urdu
- fluctuation in spacetime that propagates as a wave at the speed of light
- ثقلی امواج
gravitational wave in Bengali
- fluctuation in spacetime that propagates as a wave at the speed of light
- মহাকর্ষীয় তরঙ্গ mohakorśiẏo toroṅgo
More languagesFewer languages
- gravitational wave in Malayalam
- ഗുരുത്വാകർഷണതരംഗം gurutvākaṟṣaṇataraṅgaṁ
- gravitational wave in Punjabi
- ਗਰੈਵੀਟੇਸ਼ਨਲ ਤਰੰਗ garaivīṭeśnal taraṅg, ਗੁਰੂਤਾ ਛੱਲ gurūtā challa
- gravitational wave in Tagalog
- dagsining liboy
- gravitational wave in Arabic
- موجة ثقالية
- gravitational wave in Indonesian
- gelombang gravitasi
- gravitational wave in Persian
- موج گرانشی
- gravitational wave in Thai
- คลื่นความโน้มถ่วง klʉ̂ʉn-kwaam-nóom-tùuang
- gravitational wave in Vietnamese
- sóng hấp dẫn
Examples of gravitational wave in a sentence
- Fourth, there exists a strong competition on the side of purely astronomical means for indirect detection of gravitational waves.2003, John W. Mason, editor, Astrophysics Update, Berlin: Springer-Verlag; Chichester, West Sussex: Praxis Publishing, →ISBN, page 282:
- A gravitational-wave detector exploits the physical effects of a gravitational wave on bodies to detect the waves.2011, Jolien D[onald] E[arl] Creighton with Warren G. Anderson, “Gravitational Waves”, in Gravitational-Wave Physics and Astronomy: An...
- Physicists have announced the discovery of gravitational waves, ripples in spacetime first anticipated by Albert Einstein a century ago.2016 February 11, Tim Radford, “Gravitational waves: discovery hailed as breakthrough of the century: Scientists announce discovery of...
- Scientists have detected about 300 black hole mergers from the gravitational waves they generate.2025 July 13, Ian Sample, “Scientists detect biggest ever merger of two massive black holes”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
Synonyms of gravitational wave
Forms of gravitational wave
| plural | gravitational waves |
|---|
Words formed from gravitational wave
Questions about gravitational wave
- What does gravitational wave mean?
- Gravitational wave means a fluctuation in spacetime caused by accelerating mass, which propagates as a wave at the speed of light.
- What is gravitational wave in Hindi?
- Gravitational wave in Hindi is गुरुत्वीय तरंग (gurutvīya taraṅg). See Gravitational wave meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use gravitational wave in a sentence?
- Fourth, there exists a strong competition on the side of purely astronomical means for indirect detection of gravitational waves.
- What part of speech is gravitational wave?
- Gravitational wave is a noun.
- How do you pronounce gravitational wave?
- Gravitational wave is pronounced /ˌɡɹæ.vəˈteɪ.ʃə.nəl weɪv/.
- What is the plural of gravitational wave?
- The plural of gravitational wave is gravitational waves.
Words near gravitational wave in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: gravitational wave (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-gravitational wave.ogg.
Cite this entry: “gravitational wave.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/gravitational_wave. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.