gravitational wave

noun

: a disturbance in space-time in the form of a wave that propagates the gravitational field

Gravitational waves are a natural offshoot of the rubber-sheet construction of general relativity. Just as a massive object sitting on the fabric of spacetime creates a dimple, so moving or changing objects, under certain conditions, create wrinkles in the fabric. Those wrinkles, tiny distortions in spacetime, zoom away at the speed of light. Because these gravitational waves carry energy, anything emitting them will lose a tiny bit of its speed.

—Science

Examples of gravitational wave in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And so the same thing happens for gravitational waves. —Janna Levin, Quanta Magazine, 29 Aug. 2024

Lundquist opened his email app to see the details of LIGO’s gravitational wave alert. —IEEE Spectrum, 28 Aug. 2019

The probes will follow more than 30 million miles behind Earth as our planet orbits the sun while relaying signals back and forth that, when combined, search for gravitational wave signatures. —Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 26 Oct. 2024

This in turn would make for less energetic gravitational waves, Alonso-Álvarez said. —Quanta Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above