spacetime — English Dictionary

Noun

1. The four-dimensional continuum of the three spatial dimensions plus time.

   Usage

   • Uncountable

   Examples

   An event is a point in spacetime, specified by the coordinates x, y, z, and t.

2. An n-dimensional continuum consisting of dimensions of both space and time. Normally spacetime is considered as having 4 dimensions (x, y, z, t), but higher-dimensional spacetimes are often encountered in theoretical physics, e.g. the 5-dimensional spacetime of Kaluza-Klein theory or the 11 dimensions of spacetime in M-theory.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   a Minkowski spacetime

   a 5-dimensional spacetime

3. A specific region of the universe with mathematically different properties than the surrounding spacetime. Synonymous with "metric" within the context of general relativity.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   a Schwarzschild spacetime

   a Reissner-Nordström spacetime

Noun

1. the four-dimensional coordinate system (3 dimensions of space and 1 of time) in which physical events are located

   Synonyms

   space-timespace-time continuum

   Broader terms

   coordinate systemframe of referencereference systemreference frame