# particle

/ˈpɑɹtəkəɫ/ (US) · /pˈɑːtɪkəl/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/particle
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. a tiny piece

noun · CEFR B2

a very small piece of something, such as dust, dirt, or sand.

For teachers: a minute fragment or quantity of matter.

- A tiny particle of dust got into my eye and made it water.
- The air filtration system was designed to capture even the smallest particles of soot produced by the nearby factory.

### 2. physics

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

one of the tiny parts that make up an atom, like an electron.

For teachers: any of the subatomic constituents of matter or energy, such as protons, neutrons, or photons.

- Scientists use huge machines to study how particles move and crash into each other.
- The experiment aimed to observe the decay of the Higgs boson, a fundamental particle that explains why other particles have mass.

### 3. grammar

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

a small word that does not change its form and helps other words, like 'to' in 'to go' or 'up' in 'look up'.

For teachers: a function word that does not belong to a major inflected grammatical class and lacks a distinct lexical meaning of its own.

- In the phrasal verb 'give up', the word 'up' is a particle.
- The teacher explained that the infinitive particle 'to' is grammatically distinct from the preposition 'to' used for direction.

Usage: In English, this term often refers to the 'to' in infinitives or the adverbial elements of phrasal verbs.

### 4. a small amount

noun · CEFR C2 · Literary · Formal

a very small amount of a quality or feeling.

For teachers: the smallest possible amount or trace of an abstract quality.

- There was not a particle of truth in the rumors about the scandal.
- He spoke with such absolute conviction that not a single particle of doubt remained in the minds of the jury.

## Examples

- A tiny particle of dust got into my eye.
- The scientist used a microscope to observe how each particle moved in the liquid.
- In the sentence 'she turned the light off', the word 'off' acts as a particle that modifies the verb's meaning rather than functioning as a traditional preposition.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.