Meaning & use
upsilon
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
The 20th letter of the Greek alphabet.
Grammar: Countable; often written with a capital letter (Υ, υ).
Patterns
- the letter upsilon
- upsilon in Greek
- a capital upsilon
The Greek letter upsilon is written as Υ in uppercase.
In ancient Greek, upsilon was pronounced differently.
The symbol upsilon is used in some scientific formulas.
nouncountablephysics
A subatomic particle formerly thought to be a new kind of meson.
Grammar: Countable; used in physics.
Patterns
- the upsilon particle
- upsilon meson
- discovery of the upsilon
The upsilon particle was discovered in 1977.
Physicists study the properties of the upsilon.
The upsilon is a bound state of a bottom quark and its antiquark.
Word forms
| plural | upsilons |
|---|
Common combinations
- the letter upsilon
- The letter upsilon comes after tau.
- upsilon particle
- The upsilon particle is important in particle physics.
- Greek upsilon
- The Greek upsilon is often transliterated as 'y' or 'u'.
Commonly confused: upsilon or epsilon?
upsilon vs epsilon
Epsilon is the 5th letter of the Greek alphabet; upsilon is the 20th. They look and sound different.
Practice
What is upsilon?
Choose one answer.
Upsilon is the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet. It is not a food, operation, or planet.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “upsilon”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.