The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
n. A semistable meson produced either in a neutral form with a mass 264 times that of an electron and a mean lifetime of 8.4 × 10-17 seconds or in a positively or negatively charged form with a mass 273 times that of an electron and a mean lifetime of 2.6 × 10-8 seconds. Also called pi meson. See Table at subatomic particle.