longitude
Americannoun
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longitudes
plural
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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.
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Astronomy.
noun
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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
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astronomy short for celestial longitude
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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.
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Compare latitude
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Celestial longitude.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of longitude
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin longitūdō length. See longi-, -tude
Explanation
In geography, longitude refers to the imaginary lines that bisect the globe through the North and South Poles (the ones that run vertically, as opposed to the lines of latitude that run horizontally, parallel to the equator). If you state your exact longitude, you are describing how far east or west you are of the Prime Meridian, the imaginary line of longitude which runs through Greenwich, England. When you add your latitude, anyone with a map can pinpoint exactly where you are in the world. If you're standing at a latitude of 40°41.3'N and a longitude of 74°02.7'W, for example, you are at the Statue of Liberty.
Vocabulary lists containing longitude
Physical Geography - Introductory
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Weather and Climate - Introductory
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Human Geography - Middle 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.
See Examples For:
The globe had been cut in half while he worked on it, and he held his breath as he put the two sides together—praying that the countries, latitude and longitude lines would match.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2025
Stretching 5000km along the Indian Ocean's 90-degree east longitude and nearly matching the length of North America's Rocky Mountains, the ridge offers crucial new insights into the movement of the Earth's tectonic plates.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 27, 2024
At 105 degrees West longitude, an active satellite might see a piece of junk come within 50km of its position up to four times a day.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2024
For this method, they included geographical data such as latitude, longitude, and elevation along with the geotechnical data to improve the predictive capabilities of the model.
From Science Daily ● May 30, 2024
"Good, it has latitude and longitude lines," Venkat said.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
When the new system becomes official in the next year, latitudes, longitudes and elevations across the country will change by as much as 13 feet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Because the planet rotates as it moves across the face of its star, changes in the signal over time correspond to different longitudes on the planet.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026
According to Sotheby's, the piece contains 94 cities inscribed within it, each marked with their respective longitudes and latitudes, along with 38 star pointers linked by intricate floral tracery.
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026
This is the path determined by choosing an angle and crossing all longitudes at this fixed angle.
From Slate ● Jan. 21, 2026
Then I turn my attention to the longitudes and latitudes on the map’s sides.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
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.
