proton
Syllables: pro·tonUK/ˈpɹəʊ.tɒn//ˈpɹoʊ.tɑn/
proton noun: a positively charged subatomic particle forming part of the nucleus of an atom and determining the atomic number of an element, composed of two up quarks and a down quark.
Noun
proton (plural protons)
- A positively charged subatomic particle forming part of the nucleus of an atom and determining the atomic number of an element, composed of two up quarks and a down quark.
- The dance of the electrons about the prota, each electron and each proton consisting of a series of waves occupying the whole of the limited universe and obeying the laws of nature as they pass, is known to all.1931, C[harles] G[eorge] Crump, The Red King Dreams, 1946 - 1948, 24 Russell Square: Faber & Faber Limited, page 302
- Synonyms:
- p
- Synonym of primordium.
- It is a well authenticated fact that, in the case of section of a peripheral nerve, the nuclei of the sheath of Schwann pass to the centre of the lumen and form the protoplasmic prota of the segments of the new nerve[…]. From studies of the development of the olfactory organs in reptiles, as...1898 July, “Contributed Articles”, in C[larence] L[uther] Herrick, editor, The Journal of Comparative Neurology: A Quarterly Periodical Devoted to the Comparative Study of the Nervous System, volume...
- This paper constituted the proton (the primordium, or ‘Anlage,’ if you prefer) of my own subsequent contributions, and likewise, so far as I knew at the time, of the simplified nomenclature in America.1898 December 28, Burt G[reen] Wilder, “Some Misapprehensions as to the Simplified Nomenclature of Anatomy”, in Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual Session of the Association of American Anatomists...
- Synonyms:
- primordium
proton meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Bengali
proton in Hindi
- positively charged nucleon
- प्रोटॉन proṭŏn, प्राणु prāṇu
proton in Tamil
- புரோட்டான், நேர்மின்னி, முன்னி
proton in Marathi
- positively charged nucleon
- प्राणू prāṇū
proton in Bengali
- positively charged nucleon
- প্রোটন prōṭon
More languagesFewer languages
- proton in Malayalam
- പ്രോട്ടോൺ prōṭṭōṇ
- proton in Punjabi
- ਪ੍ਰੋਟਾਨ proṭān
- proton in Gujarati
- પ્રાણુ prāṇu
- proton in Tagalog
- mulasik
- proton in Arabic
- بْرُوتُون brutūn
- proton in Malay
- proton
- proton in Indonesian
- proton
- proton in Persian
- پروتون protôn
- proton in Thai
- โปรตอน bproo-dtɔn
- proton in Vietnamese
- proton
Examples of proton in a sentence
- Helium-2 is unbound, as it is energetically favorable for it to split into two separate protons.
- A cation is a positive ion as it has more protons than electrons.
- Our professor then reminded us that a hydrogen ion is merely a proton, and thus we should think about acid-base theory as we consider this problem further.
Synonyms of proton
Forms of proton
| plural | protons |
|---|
Origin of proton
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek πρῶτον (prôton), neuter of πρῶτος (prôtos, “first”). (physics): Coined by New Zealand-British scientist Ernest Rutherford in 1920, in analogy with electron (1891), and with an additional intention of honoring English chemist William Prout. Analyzable as proto- + -on (anatomy): A translation of German Anlage (“fundamental thing”) based on Aristotle’s phrase ἡ πρώτη οὐσία τὸ πρῶτον (hē prṓtē ousía tò prôton).
Words formed from proton
- antiproton
- diproton
- interproton
- nonproton
- photoproton
- protic
- protonate
- protonation
- proton beam
- proton capture
- proton gun
- proton halo
- protonic
- protonics
- protonium
- protonize
- protonlike
- protonmotive
- proton number
- protonography
- protonolysis
- protonophore
- protonosphere
- proton-proton chain
- proton pump
- proton therapy
- proton transfer
- protophobic
- prototropy
- quasiproton
- triproton
Phrases with proton
Questions about proton
- What does proton mean?
- Proton means a positively charged subatomic particle forming part of the nucleus of an atom and determining the atomic number of an element, composed of two up quarks and a down quark.
- What is proton in Hindi?
- Proton in Hindi is प्रोटॉन (proṭŏn), प्राणु (prāṇu). See Proton meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is proton?
- Proton is a noun.
- How do you pronounce proton?
- Proton is pronounced /ˈpɹəʊ.tɒn/ (UK).
- What is the plural of proton?
- The plural of proton is protons.
Words near proton in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: proton (page history and authors); proton (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); പ്രോട്ടോൺ (Malayalam) (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-us-proton.ogg.
Cite this entry: “proton.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/proton. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.