latitude
Geography.
the angular distance north or south from the equator of a point on the earth's surface, measured on the meridian of the point.
a place or region as marked by this distance.
freedom from narrow restrictions; freedom of action, opinion, etc.: He allowed his children a fair amount of latitude.
Astronomy.
Photography. the ability of an emulsion to record the brightness values of a subject in their true proportion to one another, expressed as the ratio of the amount of brightness in the darkest possible value to the amount of brightness in the brightest: a latitude of 1 to 128.
Origin of latitude
1synonym study For latitude
Other words for latitude
Words that may be confused with latitude
- latitude , longitude
Words Nearby latitude
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use latitude in a sentence
“Permafrost is a feature that has been part of the underground landscape in high latitudes for a long time,” says Sawyer at Ohio State.
Busy beavers may be speeding thaw of Arctic permafrost | Kathiann Kowalski | August 31, 2020 | Science News For StudentsAs the MJO moves across and out of the Maritime Continent, it triggers stronger circulation patterns that push air toward higher latitudes.
Improved three-week weather forecasts could save lives from disaster | Alexandra Witze | August 27, 2020 | Science NewsFor example, you can add a metric structure to the surface of a ball, like longitude and latitude lines on a globe.
How Physics Found a Geometric Structure for Math to Play With | Kevin Hartnett | July 29, 2020 | Quanta MagazineOccasionally, designers are granted the creative latitude to create mascots from the ground up, in any shape or taxonomy.
For Aspiring Performers, The NBA Is The Best Place To Be A Mascot | Josh Planos | July 17, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightThe latitude where this forest once existed, 82° S, is a paleolatitude, Gramling says.
Readers ask about the size of the Milky Way, ancient rainforests and COVID-19 | Science News Staff | June 14, 2020 | Science News
Normally at high latitude you feel really unwell, but I drank it and felt rejuvenated.
Bulletproof Coffee and the Case for Butter as a Health Food | DailyBurn | December 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTA judge there would have wide latitude in sentencing and could send the colonel to prison.
Commando Colonel Accused of Exposing his Lover to HIV | Jacob Siegel | November 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe longitude between Queens and the Kremlin gave Channel One some latitude.
From Moscow to Queens, Down Sergei Dovlatov Way | Daniel Genis | September 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe NSA might gain additional latitude when the software it wants to exploit is no longer supported by its parent company.
To be sure, this is fiction, and we must give the screenwriters wide latitude.
‘Generation War’ Lets World War II Germans Off Too Easily | Jack Schwartz | January 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt succeeds best in a deep rich loam in a climate ranging from forty to fifty degrees of latitude.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.The French navigator, De Pages, passed the 81st degree of north latitude, in an attempt to reach the pole.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel MunsellBetween 1° and 2°, or 3° North latitude, frequent changes in the weather are very common.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida PfeifferFrom 2° to 3° South latitude the wind is very irregular, and frequently excessively violent.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida PfeifferBetween 10° and 20° South latitude we again met with very peculiar prevalent winds.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida Pfeiffer
British Dictionary definitions for latitude
/ (ˈlætɪˌtjuːd) /
an angular distance in degrees north or south of the equator (latitude 0°), equal to the angle subtended at the centre of the globe by the meridian between the equator and the point in question
(often plural) a region considered with regard to its distance from the equator: See longitude (def. 1)
scope for freedom of action, thought, etc; freedom from restriction: his parents gave him a great deal of latitude
photog the range of exposure over which a photographic emulsion gives an acceptable negative
astronomy See celestial latitude
Origin of latitude
1Derived forms of latitude
- latitudinal, adjective
- latitudinally, adverb
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 latitude
[ lăt′ĭ-tōōd′ ]
A measure of relative position north or south on the Earth's surface, measured in degrees from the equator, which has a latitude of 0°, with the poles having a latitude of 90° north and south. The distance of a degree of latitude is about 69 statute miles or 60 nautical miles (111 km). Latitude and longitude are the coordinates that together identify all positions on the Earth's surface. Compare longitude.
Celestial latitude.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for latitude
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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