#initial-load-header-loader { visibility: hidden!important; } #initial-load-content { visibility: visible!important; } .expandable .expandable-control { display: none!important; } .expandable .expandable-content { display: block!important; visibility: visible!important; max-height: none!important; height: auto!important; }

displacement

[dis-pleys-muh nt]

|

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR displacement ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act of displacing.

the state of being displaced or the amount or degree to which something is displaced.

Physics.

the displacing in space of one mass by another.
the weight or the volume of fluid displaced by a floating or submerged body.Compare Archimedes' principle.
the linear or angular distance in a given direction between a body or point and a reference position.
the distance of an oscillating body from its central position or point of equilibrium at any given moment.

Machinery, Automotive.

the volume of the space through which a piston travels during a single stroke in an engine, pump, or the like.
the total volume of the space traversed by all the pistons.

Nautical. the amount of water that a vessel displaces, expressed in displacement tons.

Geology. the offset of rocks caused by movement along a fault.

Psychoanalysis. the transfer of an emotion from its original focus to another object, person, or situation.

electric displacement.

Origin of displacement

First recorded in 1605–15; displace + -ment

Related formspre·dis·place·ment, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for displacement

shift, move, rearrangement, movement, deracination

Examples from the Web for displacement

Contemporary Examples of displacement

For those who escape direct physical injury, there remain the ill effects of displacement and deprivation.
Palestinian Kids’ PTSD Could Last Generations
Russell Saunders
August 18, 2014
The daily killing and displacement of civilians have not led to an international agreement to stop the conflict.
After 3 Years of Brutal War Syria is Still Burning, but the World’s Attention Seems to Have Moved On.
Abdulhamid Qabbani
March 25, 2014
Palestinians call their displacement from Syria “a second Nakba,” Ellis said.
In Syria, Palestinian Refugees Made Refugees Again
Matt Surrusco
October 18, 2013
The bloodiest instance of displacement occurred in Turkman Gate, a slum whose inhabitants were overwhelmingly Muslim.
Hold Onto Your Penis
David Frum, Justin Green
November 29, 2012
This, from a country that lives with its own ghosts of dispossession and displacement.
Canada And The Palestinians
Mira Sucharov
November 29, 2012

Historical Examples of displacement

She was a cruiser built in 1907 and having a displacement of 3,544 tons.
The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII)
Various
The displacement of these German fighting ships was 18,600 tons.
The Story of the Great War, Volume II (of VIII)
Various
I was troubled with displacement of the womb and other female weakness.
Treatise on the Diseases of Women
Lydia E. Pinkham
Its recent activity has caused some displacement of the sea bottom.
The Best Short Stories of 1920
Various
It affects any sort of displacement and any kind of congestion.
How to Add Ten Years to your Life and to Double Its Satisfactions
S. S. Curry

British Dictionary definitions for displacement

displacement

noun

the act of displacing or the condition of being displaced

the weight or volume displaced by a floating or submerged body in a fluid

chem another name for substitution

the volume displaced by the piston of a reciprocating pump or engine

psychoanal the transferring of emotional feelings from their original object to one that disguises their real nature

geology the distance any point on one side of a fault plane has moved in relation to a corresponding point on the opposite side

astronomy an apparent change in position of a body, such as a star

maths the distance measured in a particular direction from a reference pointSymbol: s

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

Word Origin and History for displacement

n.

1610s, "removal from office;" see displace + -ment. Physics sense is from c.1810.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

displacement in Medicine

displacement

[dĭs-plās′mənt]

n.

Removal from the normal location or position.

A defense mechanism in which there is an unconscious shift of emotions, affect, or desires from the original object to a more acceptable or immediate substitute.

A chemical reaction in which an atom, a radical, or a molecule replaces another in a compound.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

displacement in Science

displacement

[dĭs-plās′mənt]

Chemistry A chemical reaction in which an atom, radical, or molecule replaces another in a compound.

Physics A vector, or the magnitude of a vector, that points from an initial position (of a body or reference frame) to a subsequent position.

The weight or volume of a fluid displaced by a floating body, used especially as a measurement of the weight or bulk of ships.

The volume displaced by a single stroke of a piston in an engine or pump.

Geology

The relative movement between the two sides of a geologic fault.
The distance between the two sides of a fault. Also called dislocation

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.