mean distance

noun Astronomy.

the arithmetic mean of the greatest and least distances of a planet from the sun, used in stating the size of an orbit; the semimajor axis.

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a cylindrical wooden container with slightly bulging sides.
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Origin of mean distance

First recorded in 1885–90

Words nearby mean distance

mean corpuscular volume, meander, meandering stream, meander line, mean deviation, mean distance, meandrous, mean free path, meanie, meaning, meaningful
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for mean distance

mean distance

noun

the average of the greatest and least distances of a celestial body from its primary
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