elevation

American  

[el-uh-vay-shuhn] / ˌɛl əˈveɪ ʃən /

noun

• elevations
  plural

1. the height to which something is elevated or to which it rises.

   The elevation of the tower is 80 feet.

   Antonyms:

   depth

2. the altitude of a place above sea level or ground level.

3. an elevated place, thing, or part; an eminence.

   Synonyms:

   plateau, mountain, hill, height

4. loftiness; grandeur or dignity; nobleness.

   elevation of mind.

   Synonyms:

   nobility, exaltation

5. the act of elevating.

   Her swift elevation to the chancellorship took no one by surprise.

6. the state of being elevated.

   She was fully enjoying her elevation to movie stardom.

7. Architecture. a drawing or design that represents an object or structure as being projected geometrically on a vertical plane parallel to one of its sides.

8. Surveying.

   1. angle of elevation.

   2. the distance above a datum level.

9. the ability of a dancer to stay in the air while executing a step or the height thus attained.

10. Roman Catholic Church. the Elevation, the lifting by the celebrant of the Eucharistic elements immediately after consecration, for adoration by the communicants.

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elevation British  

/ ˌɛlɪˈveɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of elevating or the state of being elevated

2. the height of something above a given or implied place, esp above sea level

3. a raised area; height

4. nobleness or grandeur; loftiness

   elevation of thought

5. a drawing to scale of the external face of a building or structure Compare plan ground plan

6. the external face of a building or structure

7. a ballet dancer's ability to leap high

8. RC Church the lifting up of the Host at Mass for adoration

9. astronomy another name for altitude

10. the angle formed between the muzzle of a gun and the horizontal

11. surveying the angular distance between the plane through a point of observation and an object above it Compare depression

12. linguistics another term for amelioration

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elevation Scientific  

/ ĕl′ə-vā′shən /

1. The vertical distance between a standard reference point, such as sea level, and the top of an object or point on the Earth, such as a mountain. At 8,850 m (29,028 ft), the summit of Mount Everest is the highest elevation on Earth.

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Synonym Usage

See height.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonelevation
  noun
• reelevation
  noun
• elevational
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• elevations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of elevation

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin ēlevātiōn- (stem of ēlevātiō ), equivalent to ēlevāt(us) “lifted, raised up” + -iōn- noun suffix; see origin at elevate, -ion

Explanation

An elevation is a rise or the raising of something. Mountains have an elevation based on how high they are and your mood has an elevation as you get happier. Elevation is a noun that tells how high something is raised above a surface or ground line. It's also a term for measuring things like temperatures or degrees. Your body temperature might have an elevation if you have the flu, just as the elevation of a hill increases as it gets steeper. Buildings have an elevation too: The front of a building from top to bottom is its front elevation of the structure.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

elevation elevations

Law demolished the arguments of the miasmists, marshaling data to show that local eruptions of equine flu were unrelated to temperature, elevation, soil conditions, changes in weather or any of the other widely touted causes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

The route at Thousand Steps Beach in South Laguna gains roughly 250 feet in elevation within a quarter mile from the sand to the highest point of the Ninth Avenue hill.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

However, the elevation of Moses Itauma v Filip Hrgovic to a world title fight left this big-ticket event feeling rather undeservedly like a support act.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

The simulations indicate that by about 45 million years ago, large parts of East Antarctica had climbed above the critical elevation, about 2 km, required for mountain glaciers to develop and expand.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026

Lawrence had been talent-spotted by Time-, his elevation to the magazine’s cover boy as the symbol of modern American science would soon follow.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

The birds' seasonal migration may become increasingly difficult as changes in climate may force them to move to higher elevations on hills, to smaller and fragmented areas.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

But if no snow survives the summer, it cannot replace the ice lost to melting at lower, warmer elevations.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Its known range covers more than 67,000 square kilometers across the Chocó forests of western Ecuador and southern Colombia, from sea level to elevations of 1,200 meters.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 5, 2026

Researchers found the species in an evergreen forest within Mae Wong National Park, in Tak-Kamphaeng Phet Province, at elevations above 1,300 meters.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026

We do know that Brunelleschi, in his search for new architectural forms, had made a study of the surviving classical buildings in ancient Rome, a study which involved taking measurements and drawing plans and elevations.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• altitude
• ascent
• mountain