equidistant
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does equidistant mean? If two things or places are equidistant from something, they are equally far away. Equidistant is another way of saying equally distant, meaning at the same distance from something. This doesn’t mean they are in the same location: two different cities might be equidistant to where you live—they might be both 50 miles away from your home. Often, equidistant refers to things that are approximately but not exactly the same distance apart. Example: The architectural plans require every single pole to be equidistant to the main pillar—they should all be exactly 27 feet away.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of equidistant
1560–70; < Middle French < Late Latin aequidistant- (stem of aequidistāns ). See equi-, distant
Explanation
Two objects are equidistant from a point if the distance between each object and that point are the same. If both you and your friend live a half mile from school, your houses are equidistant from school. Equidistant comes from the Late Latin aequidistantem, "equal distances," by way of the French équidistant. It's most commonly found in math textbooks and classes, describing the distance between a point and a set of objects. Cartographers (or mapmakers) also use the word to mean "a map projection that shows accurate scale between points." And sometimes it simply means "in the middle."
Vocabulary lists containing equidistant
The ACT Math Test: Geometry, List 1
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"The Briefcase," Vocabulary from the short story
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Geometry - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But one can buy out-of-the-money strangles — equidistant put and call strikes from the at-the-money strike — for less.
From MarketWatch ● May 22, 2026
It made a complete turn over the sea roughly equidistant from the eastern Chinese coast and Japan's southern island of Kyushu, landing in Shanghai shortly after 11am local time.
From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2025
Prosecutor Osvaldo Ossandón said: "There were approximately four outbreaks, equidistant from each other."
From BBC ● May 25, 2024
I had suggested to Steve that we meet at a dive bar in Gardena because it was equidistant between our two homes, mine in San Pedro and his in downtown L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2023
The Augur looks at each of us in turn before taking a scim from the legionnaires—one of mine—and laying it on the dais equidistant from Marcus, Helene, and me.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
