equator

[ ih-kwey-ter ]

/ ɪˈkweɪ tər /

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See synonyms for equator on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.

celestial equator.

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Origin of equator

1350–1400; Middle English <Medieval Latin aequātor,Latin: equalizer (of day and night, as when the sun crosses the equator). See equate, -tor

Words nearby equator

equation movement, equation of motion, equation of state, equation of time, equative, equator, equatorial, equatorial coordinate system, Equatorial Countercurrent, Equatorial Current, Equatorial Guinea

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

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 Review
It’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-Science
Scientists 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 News
All 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 Technica

They 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|DAILY BEAST
An orbit near the equator was important for a variety of reasons.
5 Cool Facts About NASA’s NuSTAR X-Ray Telescope|Jesse Singal|June 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Those storms kicked up in the collision zone around the equator spin westward off the coast of Cape Verde.
Sudan Drought Breeds Violence|Eliza Griswold|July 3, 2011|DAILY BEAST
And yet the trees are cultivated in every country within 15 degrees of the Equator, so a virtual cocoa belt encircles the globe.
Four Chocolate Questions Answered|Mary Goodbody|September 29, 2009|DAILY BEAST
It is about three leagues wide and is forty-four and one half degrees from the Equator.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
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 Pfeiffer
It was of a cylindrical shape, having a deep zone at the equator, and a containing capacity of about 300 feet.
Asbestos|Robert H. Jones
This 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 Shaler
Then 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

equator

/ (ɪˈkweɪtə) /

noun

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

Word Origin for equator

C14: from Medieval Latin (circulus) aequātor (diei et noctis) (circle) that equalizes (the day and night), from Latin aequāre to make equal

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 equator

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.

Cultural definitions for equator

equator

An imaginary circle around the Earth, equidistant from the North Pole and South Pole.

equator

Origin of equator

Words nearby equator

Words related to equator

How to use equator in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for equator

Word Origin for equator

Scientific definitions for equator

Cultural definitions for equator