triangulation

American  

[trahy-ang-gyuh-ley-shuhn] / traɪˌæŋ gyəˈleɪ ʃən /

noun

Surveying, Navigation.

1. a technique for establishing the distance between any two points, or the relative position of two or more points, by using such points as vertices of a triangle or series of triangles, such that each triangle has a side of known or measurable length base, or base line that permits the size of the angles of the triangle and the length of its other two sides to be established by observations taken either upon or from the two ends of the base line.

2. the triangles thus formed and measured.

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triangulation British  

/ traɪˌæŋɡjʊˈleɪʃən /

noun

1. a method of surveying in which an area is divided into triangles, one side (the base line) and all angles of which are measured and the lengths of the other lines calculated trigonometrically

2. the network of triangles so formed

3. the fixing of an unknown point, as in navigation, by making it one vertex of a triangle, the other two being known

4. chess a key manoeuvre in the endgame in which the king moves thrice in a triangular path to leave the opposing king with the move and at a disadvantage

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triangulation Scientific  

/ trī-ăng′gyə-lā′shən /

1. A method of determining the relative positions of points in space by measuring the distances, and sometimes angles, between those points and other reference points whose positions are known. Triangulation often involves the use of trigonometry. It is commonly used in the navigation of aircraft and boats, and is the method used in the Global Positioning System , in which the reference points are satellites.

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Etymology

Origin of triangulation

First recorded in 1810–20; from Medieval Latin triangulātiōn- (stem of triangulātiō ) “the making of triangles”; see origin at triangulate, -ion

Example Sentences

Triangulation was a strategy designed to prop up the status quo.

From Salon • Dec. 20, 2022

Triangulation devices and surveying rods were used to measure the elevation of land.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

Triangulation means explicitly choosing analytical approaches that depend on different assumptions.

From Nature • Jan. 22, 2018

Related: Alain de Botton – your questions answered, on art, God and ugliness Triangulation is a very dangerous process.

From The Guardian • May 8, 2016

In the Account of the Principal Triangulation of Great Britain and Ireland will be found the determination, from 75 equations, of the spheroid best representing the surface of the British Isles.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 6 "Geodesy" to "Geometry" by Various