inertial
Americanadjective
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relating to or characterized by inertia or inactivity.
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Physics. of or relating to the Newtonian property of matter, according to which matter remains at rest or in motion in a straight line until acted upon by an external force.
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.
For instance, inertial navigation systems—used to calculate a position, orientation and speed of an object—were initially developed for rockets.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
The guidance system also includes inertial navigation; future models are planned to have seeker modes for hitting moving targets.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
The drones then travel long distances towards their target using gyroscopes that measure their speed, direction and position -- known as an "inertial navigation system".
From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026
For air and sea navigation, start-ups are developing alternative technologies using Earth's magnetic field or inertial navigation.
From Barron's • Mar. 8, 2026
She walked backward for several steps, her movement inertial, tipsy, and then disappeared down the telescoping tunnel.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
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.
