density

American  

[den-si-tee] / ˈdɛn sɪ ti /

noun

• densities
  plural

1. 

   the state or quality of being dense; compactness; closely set or crowded condition.

2. stupidity; slow-wittedness; obtuseness.

3. the number of inhabitants, dwellings, or the like, per unit area.

   The commissioner noted that the population density of certain city blocks had fallen dramatically.

4. Physics. mass per unit volume.

5. Electricity.

   1. the quantity of electricity per unit of volume at a point in space, or the quantity per unit of area at a point on a surface.

   2. current density.

6. the degree of opacity of a substance, medium, etc., that transmits light.

7. Photography. the relative degree of opacity of an area of a negative or transparency, often expressed logarithmically.

8. Computers. a measure of the compactness of data saved on a storage medium, as disk or tape, or displayed on an electronic screen.

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density British  

/ ˈdɛnsɪtɪ /

noun

1. the degree to which something is filled, crowded, or occupied

   high density of building in towns

2. obtuseness; stupidity

3. ρ. a measure of the compactness of a substance, expressed as its mass per unit volume. It is measured in kilograms per cubic metre or pounds per cubic foot See also relative density

4. a measure of a physical quantity per unit of length, area, or volume See charge density current density

5. physics photog See transmission density reflection density

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density Scientific  

/ dĕn′sĭ-tē /

1. A measure of the quantity of some physical property (usually mass) per unit length, area, or volume (usually volume).

2. ◆ Mass density is a measure of the mass of a substance per unit volume. Most substances (especially gases such as air) increase in density as their pressure is increases or as their temperature decreases.

3. ◆ Energy density is a measure of the amount of energy (often in the form of electromagnetic radiation) per unit volume in a region of space or some material.

4. See also Boyle's law

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density Cultural  

1. The relative heaviness of objects, measured in units of mass or weight per units of volume. (See specific gravity.)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nondensity
  noun
• superdensity
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• densities
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of density

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin dēnsitās, equivalent to dēns(us) dense + -itās -ity

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Explanation

Density describes how compact or concentrated something is. For example, suppose you have two boxes, one large and one small. However, they both weigh the same. That means the small box has a higher density than the large box. Density also tells how concentrated or crowded something is. You may have heard of population density. In a city, there are many people packed into a small area, giving it a high population density. In a rural area, there are more fields or wooded areas between houses. That means there are fewer people living in a larger area, which is why it has a low population density.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

density densities

After about a decade, the chaparral reaches nearly the same density as before the blaze, fire ecologists say.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

L.A. has long suffered an identity crisis, caught between the single-family homes of its past and the multifamily developments that density advocates say are needed for its future.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

“Increasingly, our focus will be on scaling AVs in more cities and achieving higher supply density in those markets,” he wrote.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

“Their osteoporosis has worsened, and they’ve ended up suffering compression fractures in their back as a result of the decreased density of their bones.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

The results depend on the initial conditions, particularly on the distribution of gas and dust density with distance from the center of the cloud.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Cwm Idwal Partnership Officer Rhys Wheldon-Roberts said monitoring was "really important because it allows us to graze in the right areas at the right densities and at the right time".

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

Within the models examined by the researchers, seed densities around the 10-2 to 10-1 Mpc-3 range would begin generating more gravitational wave background than observations allow.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026

That distinction could matter for future experiments and simulations involving materials at extremely high energy densities.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026

In dwarf galaxies, the process creates dark matter cores with relatively low central densities, matching recent observations of galaxy clustering.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026

Human population densities were lowest on Henderson, Rennell, and the atolls because of their poor soil and limited fresh water.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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Related Words

• frequency
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