Carrier of an all-pervading fundamental field (Higgs field) that is hypothesized as a means of endowing mass on some elementary particles through its interactions with them. It was named for Peter W. Higgs (born 1929) of the University of Edinburgh, one of those who first postulated the idea. The Higgs mechanism explains why the carriers of the weak force are heavy, while the carrier of the electromagnetic force has a mass of zero. There is no direct experimental evidence for the existence of either the Higgs particle or the Higgs field.

Learn more about Higgs particle with a free trial on Britannica.com.

• Alan Higgs, English businessman and philanthropist
• Eric Sidney Higgs, English archaeologist
• Sir Derek Higgs, an English business leader and merchant banker
• Henry Higgs (1864 - 1940) English civil servant, economist and historian of economic thought
• Joe Higgs, Jamaican singer and musician
• Ken Higgs, English cricketer
• Peter Higgs, physicist
• Higgs mechanism, an explanation for electroweak symmetry breaking named for Peter Higgs
• Higgs boson, a theoretical elementary particle arising from the Higgs mechanism
• Higgs field, is a postulated quantum field, mediated by the Higgs boson
• Ray Higgs, Australian rugby league footballer
• Rebekah Higgs, Canadian singer