Physics
noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 The branch of science concerned with the study of the properties and interactions of space, time, matter and energy. uncountable
"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."
- 2 plural of physic form-of, plural
- 3 the science of matter and energy and their interactions wordnet
- 4 The physical aspects of a phenomenon or a system, especially those examined or studied scientifically. uncountable
"The physics of car crashes would not let Tom Cruise walk away like that."
- 5 the physical properties, phenomena, and laws of something wordnet
- 1 third-person singular simple present indicative of physic form-of, indicative, present, singular, third-person
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"My physics teacher doesn't care if I skip classes."
Etymology
1580s; from physic (see also -ics), from Middle English phisik, from Old French fisike (“natural science, art of healing”), from Latin physica (“study of nature”), from Ancient Greek φυσική (phusikḗ), feminine singular of φυσικός (phusikós, “natural; physical”), from Ancient Greek φύσις (phúsis, “origin; nature, property”), from Ancient Greek φύω (phúō, “produce; bear; grow”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to appear, become, rise up”).
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.