definitions

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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Nearby words

mean business, mean calorie, mean cell hemoglobin, mean cell hemoglobin concentration, mean deviation, mean distance, mean free path, mean length of utterance, mean lethal dose, mean life, mean line

Origin of mean distance

First recorded in 1885–90
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

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