Definition of "graviton" [graviton]

• A hypothetical particle postulated to be the quantum of gravitational interaction and presumed to have an indefinitely long lifetime, zero electric charge, and zero rest mass. 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.

• "Accordingly one attempts to treat the gravitational field as consisting of quantum - mechanical particles to which the name graviton has been given."
• "Some, mostly string theorists, posit the existence of a massless particle they've dubbed the graviton and claim that it is responsible for mediating the force of gravity, a force that has unlimited range."
• "For this reason the putative quantum particle of a gravity wave, called the graviton, is said to have an intrinsic spin of two."