great circle
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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.
Nearby words
Origin of great circle
First recorded in 1585–95
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for great circle
This is not great-circle sailing, and the ship so navigated does not take the shortest path.
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 NansenOur 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
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
Science definitions for great circle
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.