Meaning & use
microgravity
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountabletechnical
A condition in which the effects of gravity are so small that people and objects seem to float, as inside an orbiting spacecraft.
Grammar: No plural and no article: astronauts live in microgravity.
Patterns
- in microgravity
- under microgravity conditions
Astronauts on the space station live in microgravity for months at a time.
Plants grow differently in microgravity because roots cannot sense which way is down.
The experiment tests how flames behave in microgravity.
Common combinations
- in microgravity
- Bones lose density when people stay in microgravity for a long time.
- microgravity environment
- The lab built a microgravity environment inside a drop tower.
- microgravity research
- Microgravity research on the station tests new medicines.
- microgravity conditions
- Crystals can form more evenly under microgravity conditions.
- experience microgravity
- Passengers on a parabolic flight experience microgravity for about twenty seconds.
Synonyms and how they differ
- weightlessness
- Describes the feeling of floating, while microgravity names the physical condition causing it.
- zero gravity
- Is the popular term but is technically inaccurate, since gravity is not actually zero in orbit.
- free fall
- Describes the motion of falling with nothing holding you up, which is the cause of microgravity in orbit.
Opposites
Word family
- gravity noun
- the force that pulls objects toward each other
- gravitational adjective
- relating to gravity
- microgravitational adjective
- relating to very weak gravity, rare
Commonly confused: microgravity or zero gravity?
microgravity vs zero gravity
People say zero gravity in everyday speech, but gravity is still present in orbit; microgravity is the more accurate scientific word.
Practice
Why do scientists prefer the word microgravity to zero gravity when describing life on the space station?
Choose one answer.
Gravity still acts in orbit; objects and crew fall together, so weight feels almost absent. The first option is a common myth.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “microgravity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.