density

American  

[den-si-tee] / ˈdɛn sɪ ti /

noun

plural

densities

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

• nondensity noun
• superdensity noun

Etymology

Origin of density

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

Example Sentences

Many good coffee cake recipes lean on sour cream, which lends a pleasing density and richness to the batter.

From Salon

Properties such as density, heat capacity, viscosity, and compressibility respond to temperature and pressure in ways that are opposite to what scientists see in typical substances.

From Science Daily

This allows it to reconstruct all three simultaneously, improving storage density and boosting data transmission speed.

From Science Daily

This month the news broke that CATL, which commands nearly 40% of the global market, had filed a detailed patent application for solid-state batteries with the World Intellectual Property Organization, with a reported 500Wh density.

From The Wall Street Journal

“We worked alongside Arm to develop the Arm AGI CPU to deploy an efficient compute platform that significantly improves our data center performance density and supports a multi-generation roadmap for our evolving AI systems.”

From Barron's

Related Words

• frequency
• quantity
• thickness