longitude
Americannoun
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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.
It all seems to say, like Alice, “I wonder what Latitude or Longitude I’ve got to?”
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 1, 2025
According to Worsley's calculations, the Endurance was crushed by ice at 68°39′30″ South Latitude, 52°26′30″ West Longitude, nearly 200 miles east of the Antarctic Peninsula.
From Salon • Jan. 10, 2022
They include Textron's Cessna Citation Longitude which entered service in 2019, and Embraer's Praetor jets which are longer-range variants of the Brazilian planemaker's mid-sized Legacy line.
From Reuters • Sep. 13, 2021
The watch was accurate, but what the Board of Longitude really wanted was a “practical solution” according to an Oxford University Press blog post by science historian Jim Bennett.
From The Verge • Apr. 3, 2018
Longitude proved to be a harder puzzle to solve.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
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.
