spacetime
n.n. a way of thinking about the universe where time and space are not separate things. In this view, they are part of a single, four-dimensional reality.
n. a mathematical model that combines the three dimensions of space and the one dimension of time into a single four-dimensional continuum. This framework is essential for understanding general relativity and the behavior of gravity.
In spacetime, moving through time is similar to moving through space.
Einstein's theory of general relativity describes how massive objects can bend the fabric of spacetime, causing light to curve around them.
The concept of spacetime allows physicists to visualize the universe as a dynamic, flexible structure where the presence of mass and energy causes a curvature that we perceive as gravity.
From space + time, as a calque of German Raumzeit, introduced in this sense by Hermann Minkowski. First appears in print c. 1893 in the Philosophical Review.