Meaning & use
collider
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablephysicsspecialist
A machine that makes particles travel at very high speeds and then crash into each other so scientists can study the results.
Grammar: Countable: a collider, two colliders. Often used with 'particle' before it.
Patterns
- particle collider
- a collider smashes particles together
- build a collider
The Large Hadron Collider is the world's largest particle collider.
Scientists used a collider to discover new subatomic particles.
The new collider will allow researchers to study conditions just after the Big Bang.
Word forms
| plural | colliders |
|---|
Common combinations
- particle collider
- A particle collider accelerates protons to nearly the speed of light.
- Large Hadron Collider
- The Large Hadron Collider is located near Geneva.
- build a collider
- Several countries worked together to build the massive collider.
Synonyms and how they differ
- accelerator
- A broader term for any machine that speeds up particles; a collider specifically makes them collide.
- atom smasher
- An informal, older term for a particle accelerator or collider.
Word family
Commonly confused: collider or collision?
collider vs collision
Collision is the event of crashing; a collider is the machine that causes particles to crash.
Practice
What is a collider used for?
Choose one answer.
A collider is a physics machine that accelerates particles and makes them collide so scientists can study the results. The other options describe different devices.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “collider”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.