What does "wavefunction" mean?

A mathematical function that describes the propagation of the quantum mechanical wave associated with a particle (or system of particles), related to the probability of finding the particle in a particular region of space.

How do you pronounce "wavefunction"?

Pronounced //ˈweɪv.fʌŋ(k).ʃən//.

Wavefunction

//ˈweɪv.fʌŋ(k).ʃən// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
A mathematical function that describes the propagation of the quantum mechanical wave associated with a particle (or system of particles), related to the probability of finding the particle in a particular region of space.
"The interpretation of the wavefunction was one of the thorny issues facing the early pioneers of quantum theory."

Example

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"The interpretation of the wavefunction was one of the thorny issues facing the early pioneers of quantum theory."

Etymology

From wave + function.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.