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degree

[ dih-gree ]

/ dɪˈgri /

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See synonyms for: degree / degrees on Thesaurus.com

noun

any of a series of steps or stages, as in a process or course of action; a point in any scale.

a stage or point in or as if in progression or retrogression: We followed the degrees of her recovery with joy.

a stage in a scale of intensity or amount: a high degree of mastery.

extent, measure, scope, or the like: To what degree will he cooperate?

a stage in a scale of rank or station; relative standing in society, business, etc.: His uncouth behavior showed him to be a man of low degree.

Education. an academic title conferred by universities and colleges as an indication of the completion of a course of study, or as an honorary recognition of achievement.

a unit of measure, as of temperature or pressure, marked off on the scale of a measuring instrument: This thermometer shows a scale of degrees between only 20° and 40° C.

Geometry. the 360th part of a complete angle or turn, often represented by the sign °, as in 45°, which is read as 45 degrees.Compare angle¹ (def. 1c).

the distinctive classification of a crime according to its gravity: murder in the first degree.

Grammar. one of the parallel formations of adjectives and adverbs used to express differences in quality, quantity, or intensity. In English, low and careful are the positive degree, lower and more careful are the comparative degree, lowest and most careful are the superlative degree.

Mathematics.

the sum of the exponents of the variables in an algebraic term: x3 and 2x2y are terms of degree three.
the term of highest degree of a given equation or polynomial: The expression 3x2y + y2+ 1 is of degree three.
the exponent of the derivative of highest order appearing in a given differential equation.

Music. a tone or step of the scale.

Astrology. any of the 360 equal divisions of the ecliptic measured counterclockwise from the vernal equinox. Each of the 12 signs of the zodiac contains 30 degrees.

a certain distance or remove in the line of descent, determining the proximity of relationship: a cousin of the second degree.

Archaic. a line or point on the earth or the celestial sphere, as defined by degrees of latitude.

Obsolete. a step, as of a stair.

OTHER WORDS FOR degree

2 step, mark, grade, level, phase.

See synonyms for degree on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about degree

by degrees, by easy stages; gradually: She grew angrier by degrees.

to a degree,

to a considerable extent; exceedingly.
to a small extent; somewhat: He is to a degree difficult to get along with.

Origin of degree

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English degre, from Anglo-French, Old French, from unattested Vulgar Latin dēgradus; see de-, grade

OTHER WORDS FROM degree

de·greed, adjectivede·gree·less, adjectivepre·de·gree, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH degree

certificate, degree , diploma, license

Words nearby degree

degraded, degrading, degranulation, de gratia, degrease, degree, degreed, degree-day, degree mill, degree of curve, degree of difficulty

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

How to use degree in a sentence

So this was seen as perhaps the first known use of this degree to enact a large data grab.
Podcast: COVID-19 is helping turn Brazil into a surveillance state|Anthony Green|September 16, 2020|MIT Technology Review
While it’s unclear how exactly Opendoor is now faring financially, shares of competitors Redfin and Zillow—which have also jumped into the iBuying market, though to a lesser degree—have breached all-time highs.
Opendoor will go public via SPAC|Lucinda Shen|September 15, 2020|Fortune
Crop yields, though, will drop sharply with every degree of warming.
Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration|by Abrahm Lustgarten, photography by Meridith Kohut|September 15, 2020|ProPublica
After his two years in the Peace Corps, Hastings went back to school — this time to Stanford for a graduate degree in computer science.
What if Your Company Had No Rules? (Bonus Episode)|Maria Konnikova|September 12, 2020|Freakonomics

ByteDance is in the mix, along with Microsoft, Walmart and other companies to a lesser degree, like Oracle.
China may kill TikTok’s U.S. operations rather than see them sold|Alex Wilhelm|September 11, 2020|TechCrunch
“He turned pale, trembled to a great degree, was much agitated, and began to cry,” she told the court.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Investigators will focus on whether the sudden emergency was so extreme that no degree of pilot skill would have helped.
Flight 8501 Poses Question: Are Modern Jets Too Automated to Fly?|Clive Irving|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Dean Todd remained my friend until I graduated in 1988, with my degree in English literature.
I Was Gang Raped at a UVA Frat 30 Years Ago, and No One Did Anything|Liz Seccuro|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“I brought it with no small degree of trepidation,” Kucinich recalled in a lengthy phone conversation with the Daily Beast.
Repubs Should Take It From Kucinich: Impeachment Isn’t Worth It|Eleanor Clift|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I am not one of those people who believe that anyone with a college degree is by definition smarter than those without one.
Are College Educated Police Safer?|Keli Goff|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is only just to say, that the officers exhibited a degree of courage far beyond any thing we had expected from them.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
He asked what time was usually spent in determining between right and wrong, and what degree of expense?
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
He was a bookbinder previous to going upon the stage; and acquired a high degree of reputation as an actor.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
His Indian repute had not preceded him to such degree as to make the way easy for him through the London crowd.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
This is often of great advantage, as the strength of repose is expressed to a great degree in restraint of movement.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick

British Dictionary definitions for degree

degree

/ (dɪˈɡriː) /

noun

a stage in a scale of relative amount or intensitya high degree of competence

an academic award conferred by a university or college on successful completion of a course or as an honorary distinction (honorary degree)

any of three categories of seriousness of a burnSee burn 1 (def. 23)

(in the US) any of the categories into which a crime is divided according to its seriousnessfirst-degree murder

genealogy a step in a line of descent, used as a measure of the closeness of a blood relationship

grammar any of the forms of an adjective used to indicate relative amount or intensity: in English they are positive, comparative, and superlative

music any note of a diatonic scale relative to the other notes in that scaleD is the second degree of the scale of C major

a unit of temperature on a specified scalethe normal body temperature of man is 36.8 degrees Celsius Symbol: ° See also Celsius scale, Fahrenheit scale

a measure of angle equal to one three-hundred-and-sixtieth of the angle traced by one complete revolution of a line about one of its endsSymbol: ° See also minute 1, second 2 (def. 1a) Compare radian

a unit of latitude or longitude, divided into 60 minutes, used to define points on the earth's surface or on the celestial sphere
a point or line defined by units of latitude and/or longitude

Symbol: °

a unit on any of several scales of measurement, as for alcohol content or specific gravitySymbol: °

maths

the highest power or the sum of the powers of any term in a polynomial or by itselfx 4 + x + 3 and xyz ² are of the fourth degree
the greatest power of the highest order derivative in a differential equation

obsolete a step; rung

archaic a stage in social status or rank

by degrees little by little; gradually

to a degree somewhat; rather

degrees of frost See frost (def. 3)

Derived forms of degree

degreeless, adjective

Word Origin for degree

C13: from Old French degre, from Latin de- + gradus step, grade

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 degree

degree

[ dĭ-grē′ ]

A unit division of a temperature scale.

A unit for measuring an angle or an arc of a circle. One degree is 1360 of the circumference of a circle.
This unit used to measure latitude or longitude on the Earth's surface.

The greatest sum of the exponents of the variables in a term of a polynomial or polynomial equation. For example, x3 + 2xy + x is of the third degree.

Cultural definitions for degree

degree

In geometry, a unit of measurement of angles, 1/360 of a circle. In physics, a unit of temperature (see Celsius, Fahrenheit (see also Fahrenheit), and Kelvin scale). A degree on the Fahrenheit scale is smaller than a degree on the Celsius or Kelvin scale. Degrees on the Celsius and Kelvin scales are the same size.

Other Idioms and Phrases with degree

degree

see by degrees; third degree; to some degree; to the nth degree.

degree

OTHER WORDS FOR degree

Idioms about degree

Origin of degree

OTHER WORDS FROM degree

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH degree

Words nearby degree

Words related to degree

How to use degree in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for degree

Derived forms of degree

Word Origin for degree

Scientific definitions for degree

Cultural definitions for degree

Other Idioms and Phrases with degree