Everett branch

noun

A particular sequence of wavefunction collapses, which, according to the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, corresponds to a particular universe.

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Meanings

nounEverett branch (plural Everett branches)

plural Everett branches

  1. quantum mechanicsA particular sequence of wavefunction collapses, which, according to the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, corresponds to a particular universe.

    This discussion is fascinating because I used to be acquainted with some philosophers who were trying to use Everett's theory as a way to give a `rigorous' meaning to `possible'. In other words, a world is possible if there exists a causal chain of Everett branches connecting it with our world.

    1993 August 6, Justin Smith, “Possible worlds and Everett's worlds”, in sci.physics (Usenet)

Origin

Named after American physicist Hugh Everett III, who proposed the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics in 1957.

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Cite this entry
APA

Everett branch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Everett%20branch

MLA

“Everett branch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Everett%20branch. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Everett branch,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Everett%20branch.

Source: Everett branch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.