EXAMPLES | WORD ORIGIN
noun Physics the force of attraction between any two masses. Compare law of gravitation . an act or process caused by this force. a sinking or falling.
a movement or tendency toward something or someone: the gravitation of people toward the suburbs.
Origin of gravitation First recorded in
1635–45, gravitation is from the
New Latin word
gravitātiōn- (stem of
gravitātiō ). See
gravitate ,
-ion Related forms grav·i·ta·tion·al , adjective grav·i·ta·tion·al·ly , adverb an·ti·grav·i·ta·tion , adjective an·ti·grav·i·ta·tion·al , adjective an·ti·grav·i·ta·tion·al·ly , adverb non·grav·i·ta·tion , noun non·grav·i·ta·tion·al , adjective non·grav·i·ta·tion·al·ly , adverb su·per·grav·i·ta·tion , noun un·grav·i·ta·tion·al , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for gravitational Contemporary Examples of gravitational Something fascinating is going on in the gravitational dance of galaxies, from watching the slow twirls of the dancers.
The planet is deep in the gravitational well of a black hole, and the black hole would surely have very high tidal forces.
But the probes map the gravitational field along North-South line, which makes the data look stripy.
First, their simulations fail after the gravitational collapse stops, so they cannot show what replaces a black hole.
In the new paper, Laniakea is defined by a gravitational boundary.
Historical Examples of gravitational Probably it detected us as soon as we entered the gravitational field of the planet.
It is water expressing the gravitational relation of different levels.
Some gravitational pull, so that we were not upon the course of flight we should have been on.
There was a gravitational force here for which I was not allowing.
Then we got past, and into the gravitational field of the planet.
British Dictionary definitions for gravitational adjective of, relating to, or involving gravitation
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Derived Forms gravitationally , adverb noun the force of attraction that bodies exert on one another as a result of their mass
any process or result caused by this interaction, such as the fall of a body to the surface of the earth
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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
Word Origin and History for gravitational n. 1640s in physics sense, also figurative, from Modern Latin gravitationem (nominative gravitatio ), noun of action from past participle stem of gravitare (see gravitate ). Related: Gravitational .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
gravitational in Medicine
gravitation [grăv′ĭ-tā′ shən]
n. The natural phenomenon of attraction between massive bodies.
The act or process of moving under the influence of this attraction.
A movement toward a source of attraction.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
The force , first described mathematically by Isaac Newton , whereby any two objects in the universe are attracted toward each other. Gravitation holds the moon in orbit around the Earth , the planets in orbit around the sun , and the sun in the Milky Way . It also accounts for the fall of objects released near the surface of the Earth. The modern theory of gravitation is the general theory of relativity .
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
