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.

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Origin of great circle

First recorded in 1585–95

Words nearby great circle

great blue heron, Great Britain, great bustard, great cardiac vein, great cerebral vein, great circle, great-circle sailing, great-circle track, greatcoat, great council, great crested flycatcher

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use great circle in a sentence

Tend to your own garden, to quote the great sage of free speech, Voltaire, and invite people to follow your example.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It would became one of the first great mysteries in the United States of America, as it was only then 23 years old.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Unfortunately, this is more about protecting the legacy of a ‘great man.’
Phylicia Rashad and the Cult of Cosby Truthers|Stereo Williams|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Great American leaders have long contributed profound thoughts of tremendous consequence to the public discourse.
Huckabee 2016: Bend Over and Take It Like a Prisoner!|Olivia Nuzzi|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

“He turned pale, trembled to a great degree, was much agitated, and began to cry,” she told the court.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
"Capital, capital," his lordship would remark with great alacrity, when there was no other way of escape.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
I waited three months more, in great impatience, then sent him back to the same post, to see if there might be a reply.
The Boarded-Up House|Augusta Huiell Seaman
After a minute's pause, while he stood painfully silent, she resumed in great emotion.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
The country is well inhabited, for it contains fifty-one cities, near a hundred walled towns, and a great number of villages.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
This is a feature by means of which it is always possible to distinguish the Great Horsetail from any other species.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin

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

Scientific 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.