Physics Meaning
/ˈfɪz.ɪks/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe branch of science concerned with the study of the properties and interactions of space, time, matter and energy.
nounThe physical aspects of a phenomenon or a system, especially those examined or studied scientifically.
Sentence Examples
My physics teacher doesn't care if I skip classes.
Even our brains are subject to the laws of physics.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The professor explained that gravity, which pulls objects toward Earth, is a key idea in ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She excelled in ____ at school and went on to study quantum mechanics at university.
Word Origin & History
1580s; from physic (see also -ics), from Middle English phisik, from Old French fisike (“natural science, art of healing”), from Latin physica (“study of nature”), from Ancient Greek φυσική (phusikḗ), feminine singular of φυσικός (phusikós, “natural; physical”), from Ancient Greek φύσις (phúsis, “origin; nature, property”), from Ancient Greek φύω (phúō, “produce; bear; grow”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to appear, become, rise up”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"An analysis of media reports can correspondingly cast some light not only on how much physics is being reported, but on what branches of physics attract most popular attention."
— 1994, A.J Meadows, M.M Hancock-Beaulieu, editors, Front Page Physics: A Century of Physics in the News, page 3:
"The physics of elementary particles in the 20th century was distinguished by the observation of particles whose existence had been predicted by theorists sometimes decades earlier."
— 2012 March 26, Jeremy Bernstein, “A Palette of Particles”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 146:
"Daniel Hajas is a physics undergraduate at Sussex and has been blind since he was 16. He first heard about Giles and the SSDs when Giles was looking for blind students to test the devices."
— 2017 October 10, Vanessa Potter, “My sudden synesthesia: how I went blind and started hearing colors”, in CNN, archived from the original on 20 Aug 2025:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The professor explained that gravity, which pulls objects toward Earth, is a key idea in ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She excelled in ____ at school and went on to study quantum mechanics at university.