Phrase guide

gamma ray

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

Very high frequency (and therefore very high energy) electromagnetic radiation emitted as a consequence of radioactivity.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

electromagnetic radiation emitted during radioactive decay and having an extremely short wavelength

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: gamma radiation

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic wave, nonparticulate radiation

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

30 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: raig gamma — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Chinese Mandarin: 伽馬射線 /伽马射线 (gāmǎ shèxiàn) — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Chinese Mandarin: 加馬射線 /加马射线 (jiāmǎ shèxiàn) — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Chinese Mandarin: 丙種射線 /丙种射线 (bǐngzhǒng shèxiàn) — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Dutch: gammastraal — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Finnish: gammasäde — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • French: rayon gamma — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Georgian: გამა გამოსხივება (gama gamosxiveba) — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Georgian: გამა სხივი (gama sxivi) — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • German: Gammastrahlung — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Greek: ακτίνα γάμμα (aktína gámma) — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Hungarian: gamma-sugár — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Icelandic: gammageisli — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Irish: gáma-gha — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Japanese: ガンマ線 (gamma-sen) — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Korean: 감마선 (gammaseon) — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Malay: sinar gama — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Norwegian Bokmål: gammastråle — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: gammastråle — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Nuosu: ꇤꂷꁻꑟ (ga ma nbie xi) — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Polish: promieniowanie gamma — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Portuguese: raio gama — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Punjabi: ਗਾਮਾ ਕਿਰਨ (gāmā kiran) — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Russian: га́мма-излуче́ние (gámma-izlučénije) — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Spanish: rayo gamma — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Swedish: gammastråle — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Tagalog: sinag-gama — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Turkish: gama ışını — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Welsh: pelydryn gama — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation
  • Xibe: ᡬᠠᠮᠠ ᡝᠯᡩᡝᠨ ᡞ ᡫᠣᠰᠣᠪᡠᠷᡝ ᡪᡞᡪᡠᠨ (g'ama elden -i fosobure jijun) — very high frequency electromagnetic radiation