equator
the great circle on a sphere or heavenly body whose plane is perpendicular to the axis, equidistant everywhere from the two poles of the sphere or heavenly body.
the great circle of the earth that is equidistant from the North Pole and South Pole.
a circle separating a surface into two congruent parts.
Origin of equator
1Words Nearby equator
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use equator in a sentence
The measurements suggest that the asteroid’s rubble pile is unevenly distributed along its surface and is especially light at the asteroid’s equator.
Asteroid Bennu may have been home to ancient water flows | Neel Patel | October 8, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewIt’s not perfectly round, but larger and cooler at its equator than at the poles, making the poles of the star appear brighter.
A deep-space telescope spied an exoplanet so hot it can vaporize iron | Paola Rosa-Aquino | October 5, 2020 | Popular-ScienceScientists usually forecast flu seasons’ severity in the north by watching what happens south of the equator, where flu season falls in the middle of the year.
What will happen when COVID-19 and the flu collide this fall? | Tina Hesman Saey | September 18, 2020 | Science NewsAll of the familiar ones orbit in a single plane aligned with the Sun's equator and move in the same direction.
Three stars, warped rings may show how planets end up moving backward | John Timmer | September 3, 2020 | Ars TechnicaThey run parallel to the ground and point toward the equator.
Newfound ‘dunes’ is among weirdest of northern lights | Maria Temming | March 9, 2020 | Science News For Students
Yasuni Natonal Park, where the equator meets the Andes, is famed for its fabulous variety of plants and animals.
The Rio+20 Conference Went From Good Intentions to the To-Do List From Hell | Mac Margolis | June 23, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTAn orbit near the equator was important for a variety of reasons.
Those storms kicked up in the collision zone around the equator spin westward off the coast of Cape Verde.
And yet the trees are cultivated in every country within 15 degrees of the equator, so a virtual cocoa belt encircles the globe.
It is about three leagues wide and is forty-four and one half degrees from the equator.
The difference in the length of day and night decreases more and more the nearer you approach the equator.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida PfeifferIt was of a cylindrical shape, having a deep zone at the equator, and a containing capacity of about 300 feet.
Asbestos | Robert H. JonesThis covering extends rather less far toward the planet's equator than does the snow sheet on our continents.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate ShalerThen let us imagine the particle moving toward the equator with the speed of an ordinary wind.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
British Dictionary definitions for equator
/ (ɪˈkweɪtə) /
the great circle of the earth with a latitude of 0°, lying equidistant from the poles; dividing the N and S hemispheres
a circle dividing a sphere or other surface into two equal symmetrical parts
See magnetic equator
astronomy See celestial equator
Origin of equator
1Collins 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 equator
[ ĭ-kwā′tər ]
An imaginary line forming a great circle around the Earth's surface, equidistant from the poles and in a plane perpendicular to the Earth's axis of rotation. It divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres and is the basis from which latitude is measured.
A similar circle on the surface of any celestial body.
The celestial equator.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for equator
An imaginary circle around the Earth, equidistant from the North Pole and South Pole.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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