positron
/ˈpɑ.zɪ.tɹɑn/noun
positron is spelled P-O-S-I-T-R-O-N: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,767th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, positron means “The antimatter equivalent of an electron, having the same mass but a positive charge” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of positron is positrons.
How many letters and syllables are in positron?
| Letters | 8: P-O-S-I-T-R-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 44,767th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is positron?
Positron appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,767th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce positron?
- UK /ˈpɒz.ɪ.tɹɒn/
- US /ˈpɑ.zɪ.tɹɑn/
Positron has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-positron.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Aadenboy-positron.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with positron?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as positron (/ɑzɪtɹɑn/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: sorption.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of positron
- positrons plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does positron mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The antimatter equivalent of an electron, having the same mass but a positive charge.
The notion of a positron weapon remains the stuff of science fiction.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Positron in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense positron:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does positron come from?
From positive + -tron (electron). Coined by American physicist Carl Anderson in 1932 to replace the earlier term antielectron.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).