gradient

[ grey-dee-uhnt ]

/ ˈgreɪ di ənt /

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noun

the degree of inclination, or the rate of ascent or descent, in a highway, railroad, etc.

an inclined surface; grade; ramp.

Physics.

the rate of change with respect to distance of a variable quantity, as temperature or pressure, in the direction of maximum change.
a curve representing such a rate of change.

Mathematics. a differential operator that, operating upon a function of several variables, results in a vector the coordinates of which are the partial derivatives of the function. Abbreviation: grad. Symbol: ∇

adjective

rising or descending by regular degrees of inclination.

progressing by walking; stepping with the feet as animals do.

of a type suitable for walking or running, as the feet of certain birds; gressorial.

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Origin of gradient

1635–45; <Latin gradient- (stem of gradiēns), present participle of gradī to walk, go, equivalent to grad- walk + -i- thematic vowel + -ent--ent

Words nearby gradient

grade point average, grader, grade school, grade-schooler, grade separation, gradient, gradienter, gradient post, gradient wind, gradin, gradiometer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use gradient in a sentence

Inside the liner laid the Lip Maestro Liquid Lipstick in 105, followed by the Lip Maestro Liquid Lipstick in 103 for a gradient appeal.
Taraji P. Henson’s AMA Makeup Look Had To Complement A Whopping 10 Outfit Changes|cmurray|November 23, 2020|Essence.com
The resulting gradient from alkaline to more acidic water is like the difference between the positive and negative ends of a battery and can serve as an energy source for chemical activity.
Life on Earth may have begun in hostile hot springs|Jack J. Lee|September 24, 2020|Science News
This difference, or gradient, makes a positive charge build up on one side of the “wires” and a negative charge on the other.
Will bacterial ‘wires’ one day power your phone?|Alison Pearce Stevens|September 2, 2020|Science News For Students
There’s a wide gradient up to dry enough to burn explosively.
What’s behind August 2020’s extreme weather? Climate change and bad luck|Carolyn Gramling|August 27, 2020|Science News

Based on these gradients of information flow, the Santa Fe team distinguishes three types of individuality.
What Is an Individual? Biology Seeks Clues in Information Theory.|Jordana Cepelewicz|July 16, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Its largest tributary, North Caney Creek, has a gradient of 15.5 feet per mile.
Fishes of Chautauqua, Cowley and Elk Counties, Kansas|Artie L. Metcalf
At five and a half miles the brow of the main rise was reached, and the gradient became much flatter beyond it.
The Home of the Blizzard|Douglas Mawson
Both sledges ran easily for nearly a mile over neve, when the gradient increased to one in ten, forcing us to relay.
The Home of the Blizzard|Douglas Mawson
This ridge had a gradient of one in ten, and, unfortunately, also sloped down towards one of the open crevasses.
The Home of the Blizzard|Douglas Mawson
This is really the driving wheel by which it slowly moves up the steep gradient.
From the Thames to the Tiber|J. Wardle

British Dictionary definitions for gradient

gradient

/ (ˈɡreɪdɪənt) /

noun

Also called (esp US): grade a part of a railway, road, etc, that slopes upwards or downwards; inclination

Also called (esp US and Canadian): grade a measure of such a slope, esp the ratio of the vertical distance between two points on the slope to the horizontal distance between them

physics a measure of the change of some physical quantity, such as temperature or electric potential, over a specified distance

maths

(of a curve) the slope of the tangent at any point on a curve with respect to the horizontal axis
(of a function, f (x, y, z)) the vector whose components along the axes are the partial derivatives of the function with respect to each variable, and whose direction is that in which the derivative of the function has its maximum value. Usually written: grad f, ∇ f or ∇ fCompare curl (def. 11), divergence (def. 4)

adjective

sloping uniformly

Word Origin for gradient

C19: from Latin gradiēns stepping, from gradī to go

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 gradient

gradient

[ grā′dē-ənt ]

The degree to which something inclines; a slope. A mountain road with a gradient of ten percent rises one foot for every ten feet of horizontal length.

The rate at which a physical quantity, such as temperature or pressure changes over a distance.

A operator on scalar fields yielding a vector function, where the value of the vector evaluated at any point indicates the direction and degree of change of the field at that point.

gradient

Origin of gradient

Words nearby gradient

Words related to gradient

How to use gradient in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for gradient

Word Origin for gradient

Scientific definitions for gradient