cosmic background radiation: Meaning and Definition of

cos'mic back'ground radia"tion

Pronunciation: [key]
— Astron. Astron.
  1. electromagnetic radiation coming from every direction in the universe, considered the remnant of the big bang and corresponding to the black-body radiation of 3 K, the temperature to which the universe has cooled. Also called
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.