color charge

noun

In the Standard Model of particle physics, a property possessed by quarks, antiquarks, and gluons that determine rules for how these particles may interact. There are three pairs of colors and anticolors: red, green, blue, and their corresponding anti-colors (e.g. anti-red).

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Meanings

nouncolor charge (countable and uncountable, plural color charges)

plural color charges · alternative UK colour charge

  1. UScountableparticleuncountablenuclear physicsnatural sciencesIn the Standard Model of particle physics, a property possessed by quarks, antiquarks, and gluons that determine rules for how these particles may interact. There are three pairs of colors and anticolors: red, green, blue, and their corresponding anti-colors (e.g. anti-red).

Origin

From a loose analogy to the set of primary colors. The charge property has nothing to do with visible color.

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Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: color charge on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.