great circle

noun

a circle on a spherical surface such that the plane containing the circle passes through the center of the sphere.Compare small circle.
a circle of which a segment represents the shortest distance between two points on the surface of the earth.

Origin of great circle

First recorded in 1585–95

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for great circle

Historical Examples of great circle

It is by no means improbable that Cabot, who was an expert navigator, knew that great-circle sailing gave the shorter course.
In Northern Mists (Volume 2 of 2)
Fridtjof Nansen
Our voyaging is only great-circle sailing, and the doctors prescribe for diseases of the skin merely.
Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience
Henry David Thoreau
This is not great-circle sailing, and the ship so navigated does not take the shortest path.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 6
Various

British Dictionary definitions for great circle

great circle

noun

a circular section of a sphere that has a radius equal to that of the sphereCompare small circle

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

great circle in Science

great circle

A circle on the surface of a sphere whose plane passes through the center of the sphere. The Earth's equator is a great circle on the sphere of the globe.