determinate
having defined limits; definite.
settled; positive.
conclusive; final.
Botany. (of an inflorescence) having the primary and each secondary axis ending in a flower or bud, thus preventing further elongation.
Engineering.
(of a structure) able to be analyzed completely by means of the principles of statics.
(of a member of a structure) subject only to definite, known stresses.
(of a stress) able to be determined through the principles of statics.
to make certain of.
to identify.
Origin of determinate
1Other words from determinate
- de·ter·mi·nate·ly, adverb
- de·ter·mi·nate·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use determinate in a sentence
He was just as pushing and determinated and persisting in his work as though he was taking orders for enlarging crayon portraits.
Ladies and Gentlemen | Irvin S. (Irvin Shrewsbury) Cobb
British Dictionary definitions for determinate
/ (dɪˈtɜːmɪnɪt) /
definitely limited, defined, or fixed; distinct
a less common word for determined
able to be predicted or deduced
(of an effect) obeying the law of causality
botany (of an inflorescence) having the main and branch stems ending in flowers and unable to grow further; cymose
(of a structure, stress, etc) able to be fully analysed or determined
Derived forms of determinate
- determinately, adverb
- determinateness, noun
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 determinate
[ dĭ-tûr′mə-nĭt ]
Precisely determined, limited, or defined.
Not continuing to grow at an apical meristem. In the cyme, a determinate inflorescence, for example, the first floret develops at the end of the meristem, and no further elongation of the inflorescence can occur.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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