longitude
Geography. angular distance east or west on the earth's surface, measured by the angle contained between the meridian of a particular place and some prime meridian, as that of Greenwich, England, and expressed either in degrees or by some corresponding difference in time.
Astronomy.
Origin of longitude
1Words that may be confused with longitude
- latitude, longitude
Words Nearby longitude
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use longitude in a sentence
The asteroid can be best seen at longitudes in Africa and Europe, but stargazers in North America might be able to catch a glimpse around dusk.
Do look up at this asteroid as it whizzes safely past Earth tonight | Lauren J. Young | January 18, 2022 | Popular-ScienceUsers can add custom notes, latitude and longitude coordinates, or other data points to describe the image.
Inside the simple counting software that makes biologists’ jobs a little easier | Maggie Galloway | January 13, 2022 | Popular-ScienceIt lived at 0 degrees both latitude and longitude, a point known as “Null Island” by geocoders because it represents data that is empty, or null.
What Happens When the World's Most Popular COVID-19 Dashboard Can't Get Data? | Emily Barone | September 29, 2021 | TimeThe tissue first folded itself into a spheroid with its fibers forming a pattern like lines of longitude on Earth, which are parallel near the equator but sharply change orientation as they converge at the North and South poles.
Rattray wouldn’t know it yet, but when he switched his computer on to check on her progress, he would find Serenity at almost precisely the longitude of her final destination in Farquhar Atoll.
How Sea Turtles Find Their Way - Issue 94: Evolving | Jason G. Goldman | December 16, 2020 | Nautilus
The 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 BEASTShe likes to use "grand words" like latitude and longitude; her biggest fear is to appear "ignorant."
Its habitat in Australia is known to extend as wide as twenty-four degrees of latitude, and twenty-six degrees of longitude.
The longitude of the south-west end of this island is by Captain Flinders' observation in 150 degrees 13 minutes East.
Croton quadripartitum, Labill., was observed in longitude 148 degrees.
It was seen in the latitude and longitude of an island visited by Drake, marked in the old charts.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil | Maria GrahamThe late Board of longitude was another source of patronage, which, although now abolished, it may be useful to hint at.
Decline of Science in England | Charles Babbage
British Dictionary definitions for longitude
/ (ˈlɒndʒɪˌtjuːd, ˈlɒŋɡ-) /
distance in degrees east or west of the prime meridian at 0° measured by the angle between the plane of the prime meridian and that of the meridian through the point in question, or by the corresponding time difference: See latitude (def. 1)
astronomy short for celestial longitude
Origin of longitude
1Collins 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 longitude
[ lŏn′jĭ-tōōd′ ]
A measure of relative position east or west on the Earth's surface, given in degrees from a certain meridian, usually the prime meridian at Greenwich, England, which has a longitude of 0°. The distance of a degree of longitude is about 69 statute miles or 60 nautical miles (111 km) at the equator, decreasing to zero at the poles. Longitude and latitude are the coordinates used to identify any point on the Earth's surface. Compare latitude.
Celestial longitude.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for longitude
[ (lon-juh-toohd) ]
A measurement, in degrees, of a place's distance east or west of the prime meridian, which runs through Greenwich, England. (Compare 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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