geodesic
Also ge·o·des·i·cal. pertaining to the geometry of curved surfaces, in which geodesic lines take the place of the straight lines of plane geometry.
Origin of geodesic
1Words Nearby geodesic
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use geodesic in a sentence
This shows that every geodesic from A to A on the surface of the tetrahedron must pass through another vertex.
To see what our cube-world geodesic looks like, just put the cube back together.
On a sphere, straight paths follow “great circles,” which are geodesics like the equator.
We use these shortest paths, called geodesics, to plan airplane routes and satellite orbits.
Some restaurants such as East Eats, a Detroit restaurant made entirely from geodesic domes, rose to this challenge by constructing seating on platforms that allow for air circulation and investing in domes with windows.
He has access to more than 4,000 feet of elevated tunnels connecting geodesic domes and large enclosures.
The world line of a ray of light is a geodesic in the continuum.
Astounding Stories, March, 1931 | VariousHis experiments on the pendulum and geodesic surveys rendered him famous.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel MunsellThe orders I have to give are simple: The Fleet will head for home by the most direct possible geodesic.
The Highest Treason | Randall Garrett
British Dictionary definitions for geodesic
/ (ˌdʒiːəʊˈdɛsɪk, -ˈdiː-) /
Also: geodetic, geodesical relating to or involving the geometry of curved surfaces
Also called: geodesic line the shortest line between two points on a curved or plane surface
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 geodesic
[ jē′ə-dĕs′ĭk, -dē′sĭk ]
A curve that locally minimizes the distance between two points on any mathematically defined space, such as a curved manifold. Equivalently, it is a path of minimal curvature. In noncurved three-dimensional space, the geodesic is a straight line. In General Relativity, the trajectory of a body with negligible mass on which only gravitational forces are acting (i.e. a free falling body) is a geodesic in (curved) 4-dimensional space-time.
Of or relating to the branch of geometry that deals with geodesics.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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