geodesic

[ jee-uh-des-ik, -dee-sik ]

/ ˌdʒi əˈdɛs ɪk, -ˈdi sɪk /

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adjective

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.

noun

geodesic line.

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Origin of geodesic

From the French word géodésique, dating back to 1815–25. See geodesy, -ic

Words nearby geodesic

geocode, geocorona, geod., geode, geodemographics, geodesic, geodesic dome, geodesic line, geodesy, geodetic, geodetic latitude

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

How to use geodesic in a sentence

To see what our cube-world geodesic looks like, just put the cube back together.
The Crooked Geometry of Round Trips|Patrick Honner|January 13, 2021|Quanta Magazine
We use these shortest paths, called geodesics, to plan airplane routes and satellite orbits.
The Crooked Geometry of Round Trips|Patrick Honner|January 13, 2021|Quanta Magazine
On a sphere, straight paths follow “great circles,” which are geodesics like the equator.
The Crooked Geometry of Round Trips|Patrick Honner|January 13, 2021|Quanta Magazine
This shows that every geodesic from A to A on the surface of the tetrahedron must pass through another vertex.
The Crooked Geometry of Round Trips|Patrick Honner|January 13, 2021|Quanta Magazine

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.
A Looming Menace for Restaurants: Winter Is Coming|Brenna Houck|October 15, 2020|Eater
He has access to more than 4,000 feet of elevated tunnels connecting geodesic domes and large enclosures.
Bubbles Speaks|Ben Montgomery|July 5, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The world line of a ray of light is a geodesic in the continuum.
Astounding Stories, March, 1931|Various
His experiments on the pendulum and Geodesic surveys rendered him famous.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
The 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

geodesic

/ (ˌdʒiːəʊˈdɛsɪk, -ˈdiː-) /

adjective

Also: geodetic, geodesical relating to or involving the geometry of curved surfaces

noun

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

geodesic

[ jē′ə-dĕs′ĭk, -dē′sĭk ]

Noun

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.

Adjective

Of or relating to the branch of geometry that deals with geodesics.