big bang theory

American  

noun

Astronomy.

1. a theory that deduces a cataclysmic birth of the universe big bang from the observed expansion of the universe, cosmic background radiation, abundance of the elements, and the laws of physics.

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big-bang theory British  

noun

1. a cosmological theory postulating that approximately 12 billion years ago all the matter of the universe, packed into a small superdense mass, was hurled in all directions by a cataclysmic explosion. As the fragments slowed down, the galaxies and stars evolved but the universe is still expanding Compare steady-state theory

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Big Bang theory Cultural  

1. In astronomy, a theory according to which the universe began billions of years ago in a single event, similar to an explosion. There is evidence for the Big Bang theory in the observed red shift of distant galaxies, which indicates that they are moving away from the Earth, in the existence of cosmic microwave background, and from other data. The Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe is accepted by most astronomers today.

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Discover More

Scientists have recently found that the expansion of the universe is actually speeding up. This effect is attributed to the presence of dark energy.

Etymology

Origin of big bang theory

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

When we first pitched the show to Casey Bloys and the creative team at HBO, we said it would be “glacially slow, with no big bang theory of dramatics.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2025

He says the big bang theory is a “paradigm-smashing concept to end all paradigm-smashing concepts” because it demonstrates that the universe had a beginning.

From Washington Times • Oct. 13, 2021

As empirical science ossifies, journalists such as myself, who feed society’s hunger, will come under more pressure to tout theories that supposedly transcend quantum mechanics or the big bang theory or natural selection.

From Scientific American • Oct. 20, 2019

Back in the 1940s and 1950s, physicists made the same mistake as the Barenaked Ladies and tried to explain the cosmic presence of all the chemical elements from the big bang theory alone.

From Salon • May 16, 2019

For a time, big bang theory and steady-state theory lived side by side, alternatives that astronomers chose between depending on their philosophy.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife