gravitational
Americanadjective
-
Physics. of or relating to the force of attraction between two masses.
The gravitational effect of the moon causes the rise and fall of ocean tides.
-
of or relating to a strong movement or natural tendency toward something or someone.
Their gravitational attraction to self-destructive behavior has been the subject of much study.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of gravitational
First recorded in 1850–55; gravitation ( def. ) + -al 1 ( def. )
Vocabulary lists containing gravitational
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"He's a magnet, people just gravitate towards him," Maria says.
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2026
“More broadly, competing against futures is not new for Cboe, and options have steadily been taking share from futures over time as investors gravitate towards the asymmetric upside potential and defined downside.”
From MarketWatch • Jun. 5, 2026
“While the current software investor mindset is to only see risk, we expect interest to gravitate towards companies that consistently beat and raise,” wrote Oppenheimer analyst Ken Wong in a research note.
From Barron's • Jan. 2, 2026
“The most important thing is we are all unique, in our likes, in our dislikes, in what we gravitate towards and what we buy.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2025
Was it not natural, that they should, in the humorous phrase of Ballanche, "gravitate towards the centre of the Abbaye-aux-Bois"?
From The Friendships of Women by Alger, William Rounseville
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
