From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishprotonpro‧ton /ˈprəʊtɒn $ ˈproʊtɑːn/ noun [countable] HPa very small piece of matter with a positive electrical charge that is in the central part of an atom → electron, neutron
Examples from the Corpus
proton• Quarks are thought to be the fundamental particles from which matter, such as protons, is built.• Is his identity dependent upon the particular choice of electrons, protons, and other particles that compose those atoms?• Assignments of exchangeable protons are shown.• The number of protons remains the same, even though electrons may be lost or gained.• This incredibly dense, hot soup of protons and electrons is called fluid metallic hydrogen.• At this point it must seem paradoxical that atomic nuclei containing several closely packed protons exist at all.• The mass of the proton is 1836 times that of an electron, yet their electrical charges equate.• The nucleus has two protons and two neutrons.Origin proton (1800-1900) Greek “first thing”, from protos; → PROTO- 