Physics

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈfɪz.ɪks/

Alternative forms

• physicks obsolete

Origin

From Ancient Greek φυσικός (phusikos, "natural")

Full definition of physics

Noun

1. The branch of science concerned with the study of properties and interactions of space, time, matter and energy.
• 2012-03, Jeremy Bernstein, A Palette of Particles, The physics of elementary particles in the 20th century was distinguished by the observation of particles whose existence had been predicted by theorists sometimes decades earlier.
2. Newtonian physics was extended by Einstein to explain the effects of travelling near the speed of light; quantum physics extends it to account for the behaviour of atoms.
3. Of or pertaining to the physical aspects of a phenomenon or a system, especially those studied in physics.The physics of car crashes would not let Tom Cruise walk away like that.

Meronyms

Related terms

• physical
• physicist

Derived terms

Noun

plural

1. Plural of physic

Verb

1. physics

   (third-person singular of physic)