Definition of "baryon" [baryon]

• Any of a family of subatomic particles, including the nucleon and hyperon multiplets, that participate in strong interactions, are composed of three quarks, and are generally more massive than mesons. Also called heavy particle. See Table at subatomic particle. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "This pattern is known by the term "baryon acoustic oscillations"."
• "Since 1970, theorists had been predicting another, subtler structure, superimposed on the 300-million-light-year structure and called baryon acoustic oscillations."
• "A baryon is a particle of matter made of three fundamental building blocks called quarks."