fourth dimension

American  

noun

1. Physics, Mathematics. a dimension in addition to length, width, and depth, used so as to be able to employ geometrical language in discussing phenomena that depend on four variables.

   Time is considered a fourth dimension for locating points in space-time.

2. something beyond the kind of normal human experience that can be explained scientifically.

   The story deals with ESP and other excursions into the fourth dimension.

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fourth dimension British  

noun

1. the dimension of time, which is necessary in addition to three spatial dimensions to specify fully the position and behaviour of a point or particle

2. the concept in science fiction of a dimension in addition to three spatial dimensions, used to explain supernatural phenomena, events, etc

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fourth dimension Scientific  

/ fôrth /

1. Time regarded as a coordinate dimension. A fourth dimension is required by relativity theory, along with three spatial dimensions, to specify completely the location of any event.

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Other Word Forms

• fourth-dimensional adjective

Etymology

Origin of fourth dimension

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

As Diaz puts it, Calder worked in the fourth dimension — time.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 9, 2023

Now, imagine a fourth dimension in which you can actually listen to that data.

From Science Daily • Oct. 30, 2023

Their work is rigorously conceptual and often engages with the kind of brain-twisting math many of us have spent our lives avoiding: space-filling curves, string theory, fluid dynamics, the fourth dimension.

From New York Times • Mar. 16, 2023

The fourth dimension offers unlimited space in which to unravel even the most complicated knot.

From Washington Post • May 22, 2020

The fourth dimension, time, is also finite in extent, but it is like a line with two ends or boundaries, a beginning and an end.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking