gradient

American  

[grey-dee-uhnt] / ˈgreɪ di ənt /

noun

gradients plural

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

2. an inclined surface; grade; ramp.

3. Physics.

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

   2. a curve representing such a rate of change.

4. 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. grad. ∇

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adjective

1. rising or descending by regular degrees of inclination.

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

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

gradient British  

/ ˈɡreɪdɪənt /

noun

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

2. 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

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

4. maths

   1. (of a curve) the slope of the tangent at any point on a curve with respect to the horizontal axis

   2. (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 ∇ f Compare curl divergence

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adjective

1. sloping uniformly

gradient Scientific  

/ grā′dē-ənt /

1. 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.

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

3. 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.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• gradients
  plural

Etymology

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

Explanation

The gradient of a surface is its slope. If you're a daredevil and you're looking for a road to fly down on your skateboard, you'll want to find one with a fairly steep gradient. In mathematics, the gradient tells you how steep a line in a graph is. In physics, when you say gradient, you're talking about how quickly something changes from one point to another. The word comes ultimately from the Latin gradus "step," and a gradient gives you a measure of the "steps" by which something changes.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gradient gradients

At the same time, the degree of permeability within those fractured regions was influenced by the Earth's geothermal gradient and the composition of the crust.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 2, 2026

Around 300 National Trust staff and volunteers will be involved, carrying about 17 tonnes of fresh chalk up the steep hillside, which in places has a gradient of roughly one in three.

From BBC ● May 27, 2026

The “LA” monogram no longer includes gradient coloring.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2026

“Time to recalibrate my gradient on the big picture,” one co-founder wrote to announce his last day.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026

PIH believed in sending resources directly to Cange, down “the steep gradient of inequality.”

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

The team suspected these gradients could play a major role in shaping magnetic fields.

From Science Daily ● May 26, 2026

The coffers have their own rhythm; indirect lighting turns the hollows into shadow gradients.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

And "part of the novelty of this work is functional gradients exist everywhere in biology," the researcher said.

From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026

The 186km ride from Viareggio to Castelnovo ne' Monti saw 3,812 metres of climbing, including gradients of about 20%.

From BBC ● May 21, 2025

In English, they would be free of the sharply defined gradients of Korean hierarchy: formal deference, informal deference, blunt, familiar, intimate, and plain.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell