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.

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transliterate

to remove or destroy all traces of.

to change (letters, words, etc.), into corresponding characters of another alphabet or language.

to explain in terms that can be more easily understood.

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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 council, great crested flycatcher, great crested grebe, great daedala, great dane

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for great circle

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
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

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.