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

And, because of the magic of light, the fourth dimension of time is constantly added.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 2, 2024

As Middleton sees it, the research sets the foundation for using that fourth dimension in data analysis.

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

One thing Trout said that Rosewater liked very much was that there really were vampires and werewolves and goblins and angels and so on, but that they were in the fourth dimension.

From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut