Definition of "cosmic string" [cosmic string]

• Any of numerous very long and thin alterations or topological defects in space hypothesized to have resulted from the Big Bang and to have made possible the conglomeration of mass into structures such as galaxies and the unequal distribution of mass in the universe. (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.

• "Grey's dusty presence faded as Arthur continued crisply: Simply that the cosmic string is clearly employed here in some sort of civil-engineering sense."