hard science

noun

1. any of the natural or physical sciences, as chemistry, biology, physics, or astronomy, in which aspects of the universe are investigated by means of hypotheses and experiments.

hard science

noun

1. 1. one of the natural or physical sciences, such as physics, chemistry, biology, geology, or astronomy
   2. ( as modifier )

      a hard-science lecture

Derived Forms

• hard scientist, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hard science¹

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

It’s a hard science and this type of research is common at credible groups and consultancies—and firms that aren’t making good-faith efforts to check their own assumptions are often wasting a whole lot of your money.

From Time

While aloft, the crew will also be doing some hard science—and a bit of less-hard science.

From Time

Many young people have made it extremely clear that without fixing this problem, nothing else really matters—and that stance is backed up by cold, hard science.

From Popular-Science

In the hard sciences in many cases you not only have the original research, but you have a first replication also published in Science.

From Freakonomics

Here the snake oil quotient is a bit more evident than in the skybox seats occupied by insights made using hard science.

From The Daily Beast

According to cold, hard science, willpower is an unlimited resource.

From The Daily Beast

No mere correlations or weak associations; he was after hard science.

From The Daily Beast

But war is not a sport, it is a cold, hard science, demanding every energy of the nation for its successful pursuit.

From Project Gutenberg