strong force

noun

: a fundamental physical force that acts on hadrons and is responsible for the binding together of protons and neutrons in the atomic nucleus and for processes of particle creation in high-energy collisions and that is the strongest known fundamental physical force but acts only over distances comparable to those between nucleons in an atomic nucleus

called also strong interaction, strong nuclear force

compare electromagnetism sense 2a, gravity sense 3a(2), weak force

Examples of strong force in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But the ticking of a nuclear clock comes from a comparative terra incognita, the mysterious domain of the strong force that binds nuclei together. —Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 11 Sep. 2024

The shortage was in part the result of the controversial decision by Ukraine’s top leaders to invade Russia’s Kursk Oblast with a strong force drawn from eight or so Ukrainian brigades. —David Axe, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2024

The neutron’s altered spin slightly changes both the electromagnetic and strong forces, but those changes happen to cancel each other out almost exactly. —Quanta Magazine, 4 Sep. 2024

But recently physicists have made real progress in measuring the strong force. —Laura Helmuth, Scientific American, 16 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1964, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

strong force

noun

: the force between the particles of an atomic nucleus that acts to hold the nucleus together and is the strongest known force