azimuth

[ az-uh-muhth ]

/ ˈæz ə məθ /

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noun

Astronomy, Navigation. the arc of the horizon measured clockwise from the south point, in astronomy, or from the north point, in navigation, to the point where a vertical circle through a given heavenly body intersects the horizon.

Surveying, Gunnery. the angle of horizontal deviation, measured clockwise, of a bearing from a standard direction, as from north or south.

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Origin of azimuth

1350–1400; Middle English azimut<Middle French ≪ Arabic as sumūt the ways (i.e., directions)

OTHER WORDS FROM azimuth

az·i·muth·al

[az-uh-muhth-uhl], /ˌæz əˈmʌθ əl/, adjectiveaz·i·muth·al·ly, adverb

Words nearby azimuth

azido, azido group, azidothymidine, Azikiwe, Azilian, azimuth, azimuthal equidistant projection, azimuthal projection, azimuthal quantum number, azimuth bar, azimuth circle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use azimuth in a sentence

Variables like weather, azimuth, elevation, crude launchers, and rocket viability quickly add up.
Dodging Rockets in Afghanistan as the Taliban’s Fighting Season Begins|Nick Willard|May 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One Kelvin standard compass, with azimuth mirror on compass platform.
Loss of the Steamship 'Titanic'|British Government
Webb at once proceeded to take full magnetic declination, time and azimuth observations, Laseron recording for him.
The Home of the Blizzard|Douglas Mawson
The angle which this line makes with a line pointing due south is called the sun's azimuth.
A Text-Book of Astronomy|George C. Comstock

The Azimuth of a star is the angle between the meridian and the vertical circle passing through the star.
A Text-Book of Astronomy|George C. Comstock
The direction EP gives the azimuth of the wave-path, or its direction along the surface of the earth.
A Study of Recent Earthquakes|Charles Davison

British Dictionary definitions for azimuth

azimuth

/ (ˈæzɪməθ) /

noun

astronomy nautical the angular distance usually measured clockwise from the north point of the horizon to the intersection with the horizon of the vertical circle passing through a celestial bodyCompare altitude (def. 3)

surveying the horizontal angle of a bearing clockwise from a standard direction, such as north

Derived forms of azimuth

azimuthal (ˌæzɪˈmʌθəl), adjectiveazimuthally, adverb

Word Origin for azimuth

C14: from Old French azimut, from Arabic as-sumūt, plural of as-samt the path, from Latin semita path

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for azimuth

azimuth

[ ăz′ə-məth ]

The position of a celestial object along an observer's horizon. Azimuth is a horizontal angle measured clockwise in degrees from a reference direction, usually the north or south point of the horizon, to the point on the horizon intersected by the object's line of altitude (a line from the observer's zenith through the object to the horizon). If north is the reference point (0°), then east has an azimuth of 90°, south is 180°, and so forth through 360°. See more at altazimuth coordinate system.